The objective of the activity is to design a system concept based on distinct transmit-only and receive-only satellites for the user link. The goal is to enable at the system level simultaneous two-way low data rate communication services such as Internet of Things, messaging, and VDES operating in frequency range from VHF to C-band. The system concept will be implemented and tested in an end-to-end system testbed. This includes the user termi…

Objective: The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test a breadboard of a L- and C-band configurable power amplifier to enable dual band operation of avionic terminals. It shall demonstrate 200W peak power per channel and a 10dB dynamic rangewith a constant average power added efficiency of at least 50% for both bands, without compromising linearity performance. The breadboard shall include driver, main and peak amplifier,…

The objective of the activity is to develop and test a prototype of the emergency car light device with direct to satellite communication capability in an emulated environment in laboratory.Procurement Policy: C(1) = Activity restricted to non-prime contractors(incl. SMEs). For additional information please go to:…

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a tribology-free mechanism breadboard for both platform and payload pointing applications on telecom satellites. The lifetime of the developed mechanism shall be assessed, and endurance testing shall be carried out. Targeted Improvements: Enabling a European source of compact, tribology-free pointing mechanisms with no backlash or friction hysteresis effects. Description: Today p…

The objective of this activity is to develop radiation tolerant platform technologies and semi-autonomous orbit transfer capabilityfor small satellite platforms. An experimental small satellite will be designed, manufactured and launched. The satellite will feature the platform technologies developed as well as a simple telecommunication payload allowing experiments during orbit raising to GEO as well as in GSO. Targeted Improvements: Enabling…

The objective of the activity is to develop and test a breadboard of an electrophoretic panel enabling adaptive thermal control on telecommunication spacecraft. Targeted Improvements:-Enabling technology to allow adaptive control of radiative surfaces.-Reduction in heater power of 40% and in radiator size of 30%. Description: Traditional thermal design balances emissivity and absorption parameters based on surface materials and/or coatings sel…

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a set of highly efficient (minimum 25% power added efficiency) Q-band Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMIC) for active antenna applications in GEO, MEO and LEO. The packaged devices will be based on European technology covering the 10 Watt power class (GEO) down to a few 100mWs for LEO applications. Targeted Improvements: Enabling critical building block technology deve…

The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a breadboard of high-power W-band travelling wave tube (TWT) to meet the requirements of Very High Throughput Satellites.Targeted Improvements:Enable a European source of W-band TWT with 5 GHz instantaneous bandwidth, 100 W power output and at least 30% efficiency.Description:High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS) already use Q/V band frequencies…

The objective of this activity to design, manufacture and test a Ku- or Ka-band faceted reconfigurable reflect array operating in receive band for reconfigurable coverage applications. RF and thermo-elastic performance shall be experimentally evaluated.TargetedImprovements: - Reduction up to 20% the reflector aperture diameter in comparison to today's shape reflector technology.- Improvement of the directivity performance at the edge of t…

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test an integrated W-band transceiver Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) configurable as transmitter and receiver covering the 71-86 GHz band for aeronautical satcom applications. Targeted Improvements: Enable satellite aeronautical broadband services in W-band. Description: The maturity of Silicon technologies allows for the implementation of multifunctional and reconfigurable…

The objective of this activity is to develop the software protocol stack for Release 18 enhancements related to 5G New for Radio (NR) for Non-Terrestrial Networks. The software protocol stack development shall be based on a testbed considering both the User Equipment (UE) and g-NodeB (gNB) features and operational procedures.Targeted Improvements:Enable 5G NR NTN system performance simulations with the latest Release 18 modifications.Descripti…

The objective of the activity is to investigate, develop and test conformal Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology using a novel approach, such as additive manufacturing to "print" the antenna for the automotive market. Targeted Improvements: Enabling conformal board of patches with distribution feed and integration of amplifiers on the reverse side, able to follow the shape of a car roof. Description: Conventional PCB technology is…

Objective: The objective is to develop and test a Ku or Ka band transparent phased array antenna to provide broadband connectivity on board cars. Targeted Improvements: Develop a new class of phased array antennas for cars able to guarantee a seamless broadband connectivity with LEO satellites. Description: There is today a significant interest to provide broadband connectivity to cars. This request is associated to the need to guarantee emerg…

The objective is to develop a multi-model informed predictive tool of atmospheric parameter variability for mission design and operation.Targeted Improvements:- Enabling a new European tool allowing prediction of atmospheric conditions (e.g., density, composition, radiation) over time, including local state and total dose.- To reduce initial mission design margins hence avoiding overdesign.Description: The recent loss of several communication…

Objective: The objective of this activity is to develop, deploy and operate a flexible software-defined radio communication testbedwith a frequency flexible RF front end on the International Space Station, supporting a wide range of frequencies up to Q/V band addressing 5G, signal processing and advanced techniques. Targeted Improvements: Enabling innovative and fast developments of future satcom applications from UHF to Q/V band that are diff…

This Call for Proposals covers the industry initiated activities for the four Programmes lines identified below:ARTES Core Competitiveness Generic ProgrammeLine- Component B: Competitiveness GrowthARTES Strategic Programme Line Space for 5G/6G and Sustainable Connectivity ARTES Strategic Programme Line Space Systems for Safety and Security (4S)ARTES Strategic Programme Line Optical and Quantum Communication - ScyLight. The participating state…

This Call for Proposals covers the industry initiated activities for the Civil Security for Space programme.

The Pioneer programme, implemented under the ARTES 4.0 Generic Programme Line "Partnership Projects", aims to supports the emergence of Space Mission Providers (SMPs), i.e. commercial entities interested in becoming one-stop-shop service providers for public and private customers. The Open Call for proposals is aimed to offer the opportunity for new companies from across all ESA member states to participate in the programme. It will…

The objective of this activity is to develop a testbed that allows the demonstration of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) 5G services viasatellite. Using existing satellite assets and on-ground antenna for mobile applications (not necessarily aesthetically attractive), the test bed shall address both forward and return link traffic, to support the definition of future V2X applications and associated technical enhancements. The set of services to be…

The objective of this activity is to develop and evaluate efficient digital beamforming algorithms and techniques that are compatible with non-uniform antenna arrays or non-uniform beam lattices. The developed techniques will be implemented and evaluated on a representative processor test bed. Targeted Improvements: 30 to 70% power reduction on the implementation of digital beamforming algorithms with non-uniform input/outputs with respect to…

The objective of this activity is to implement and test the signal processing portion of a 5G LEO satellite payload capable of handling several high throughput beams assuming an active antenna configuration. The demonstrator shall be based on a processor capable of controlling a reconfigurable beam-forming network (BFN) and performing signal (re-)generation andchannelisation of 5G waveforms. Targeted Improvements: Enable 5G regenerative payloa…

Objective: To develop a simulator of optical propagation based on a high-resolution numerical atmospheric simulator, to be used forthe long-term characterisation and the forecast of the signal scintillation and other propagation effects in the area around a ground terminal for Earth-Space optical communication system. Targeted Improvements: Breakthrough to achieve regional optical channel performance assessment; achieve high resolution channel…

The objective of this activity is to form a European consortium and to develop a solar array test approach as needed for the preparation of the ECSS E-20-08 handbook, in the case of a design or process change. The new test approach will be validated by Development Validation Testing (DVT) coupons. Targeted Improvements: Substantial reduction (50%) in the delta-qualification time of solar panels, which deviate slightly from existing qualified d…

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test in orbit an inflatable drag device for de-orbiting small satellites from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Performance data will be gathered (deployment imagery and positional telemetry) in a fully representative space environment (including drag effects) that would not be possible to simulate or test on ground. Targeted Improvements:Reduce de-orbit time by a factor of 5 (for altitudes of 4…

The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a breadboard of a highly integrated Q-V band beam forming network forflexible on-board feeder link active antennas. Targeted Improvements: Enabling a European source for Q-V band beamforming for feeder links. Description: Feeder links in next generation Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS) rely on a full RF chain in Q-V band. Today, mechanically steerable multi-feed antenna archit…