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Funding
This page displays the ARTES Invitation To Tenders (ITTs) which are published on ESA-STAR. If you are looking for a specific element select from the list provided and click on the Apply button to start the search and display the results.
Funding of the individual Prime or subcontractors, for ARTES Core Competitiveness and ARTES Applications activities, is subject to authorisation of the required ARTES budget by the related National Delegations. Therefore, bidding teams are requested to inform their National Delegation(s) of their intention to participate in funded activities already before submitting a proposal.
The official information platform for providing potential bidders all the relevant documentation and details concerning the intended and issued Invitations To Tender (ITTs) for Open Competitions and Direct Negotiations is ESA-STAR - managed and operated by the ESA Procurement Department.
VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT SYSTEM SIMULATOR FOR DIRECT SATELLITE-TO-DEVICE 5G/6G COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.019)
Objective: The objective of the activity is to develop and test a system simulator testbed capable of modelling and assessing the performance of communication satellite constellations operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). This includes the assessment of the emerging waveforms (5G NTN, European Protected Waveform).Targeted Improvements: Enable the design and assess the constellation system performance of communication satellites operating i…
MULTI-PLATFORM DUAL BAND CONFIGURABLE POWER AMPLIFIER FOR AVIONIC TERMINALS (ARTES AT 7C.052) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
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,…
SINGLE-PIECE-PART W-BAND PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA INCLUDING THE PASSIVE RF FRONT-END (ARTES AT 5B.239)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a W-band/E-band phased array antenna including the passive RF front-end taking advantage of additive and hybrid manufacturing techniques in order to reduce its complexity and mass compared to conventional subtractive techniquesTargeted Improvements: 30% mass reduction, removing screws and assembly interfaces.Description: With the multiplication of broadband communication satelli…
MULTIFUNCTIONAL HINGE FOR LARGE ON-BOARD DIRECT SATELLITE-TO-DEVICE ACTIVE ANTENNA ARRAYS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 4E.093)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a multifunctional hinge technology to accommodate a large multi panel active antenna array on a spacecraft platform, with integrated sensing to avoid adverse local deflections due to spacecraft dynamics.Targeted Improvements:Enabling technology for very large active antennas with disperse panels to be accommodated on a spacecraft platformfor future 5G/6G (direct to handheld) satellitesDescri…
SMALLSAT PLATFORM WITH SELF-TRANSFER CAPABILITY INTO GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT (ARTES AT 3E.001) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
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…
FUTURE GEOSTATIONARY AMATEUR SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS PAYLOAD (ARTES FPE 1A.126) - EXPRO PLUS
ESA will support an initiative to define a future amateur satellite payload in geostationary orbit. ESA proposes that this activitywill be implemented by a combination of collaborative internal, industrial, and amateur efforts, all within the financial envelope as indicated. The activity shall consolidate requirements from the amateur and commercial satellite industry, trade-off several payload options, address the future user segment, develop…
SPIN-IN OF SLIPRING TECHNOLOGY FOR SATCOM APPLICATIONS (ARTES AT 4E.096)
The objective of the activity is to select an off the shelf European slipring technology for terrestrial applications and demonstrate its suitability for Satcom applicationTargeted Improvements: Improving by 20% of power density, lifetime, mass, volume, and lead time.Description: Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM) require complex slip-ring technology often leading to long delivery times. However, slipring technologies for terrestrial applicati…
ON-CHIP ACTIVE RECONFIGURABLE FILTERS FOR 5G PHASED ARRAY ANTENNAS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 7A.076)
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 connectivitywith LEO satellites. Description: There is today a significant interest to provide broadband connectivity to cars. This request is associated to the need to guarantee emergency service…
IMPLEMENTATION OF SOFTWARE MITIGATION SOLUTIONS FOR RADIATION-INDUCED SINGLE EVENT EFFECTS (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.490) - RE-ISSUE OF ITT 1-11734
The objective of the activity is to de-risk software mitigation techniques for radiation effects on a family of high-performance processors embedded in System on Chip (SoC) components. The activity will identify, on one or more processors of interest for the industry, radiation-induced failure modes and will implement appropriate software mitigation techniques with reuse or development of small FPGA IPs if needed. Targeted Improvements: Enable…
SINGLE-CHIP 71-86 GHZ TRANSCEIVER RFIC FOR AERONAUTICAL SATCOM APPLICATIONS (ARTES AT 6A.074) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
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…
CHARACTERISATION OF ATMOSPHERIC TRANSMITTANCE AT WAVELENGTHS TO BE USED IN TERABIT OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6C.053)
The objective of the activity is to characterise narrow attenuation lines (due to absorption or scattering) in the optical C-band (and ideally L-band) and to evaluate their effect on the communication performance of terabit-per-second feeder links. The activity will develop a testbed to perform measurements and to compare them against existing models. Targeted Improvements: 100% reliability improvement of terabit per second optical communicati…
SPATIALLY COMBINED 40 W - 60 W Q-BAND SOLID STATE POWER AMPLIFIER (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.494)
The objective of this activity is to develop, manufacture and test a highly efficient Q-band spatial power divider and combiner forapplication in Q-band Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPA). Experimental performance verification shall be carried out on a 40 - 60 W (nominal operating point) Q-band SSPA breadboard. Targeted Improvements: Improved power added efficiency of 5 - 10% of Q-band SSPAs in comparison to the state of the art. Description:…
ELECTROMECHANICAL MULTILINE THRUSTER SWITCHING UNIT FOR ELECTRIC PROPULSION (ARTES AT 4F.171)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a thruster switching unit facilitating the connection of multiple electric propulsion thrusters to one or more power processing units for redundancy or configuration purposes optimising the system architecture.Targeted Improvements: - Improved efficiency (10% increase with respect to solid state solution).- Increased reliability with respect to a relay-based solution.- Reduced le…
HIGH POWER W-BAND TRANSMIT-RECEIVE DIPLEXERS FOR GROUND STATIONS (ARTES AT 6B.118) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST) - EXPRO+
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a high-power Tx/Rx W-band diplexer for ground terminals.Targeted Improvements:Enabling technology for ground stations W-band gateway links with high power handling and low PIM.Description:The useof the available spectrum in W-band (71-76 GHz for downlink and 81-86 GHz for uplink) is attractive to satcom systems asit could beadopted in the gateway of Very High Throughput Satellites (…
HIGH POWER AMPLIFIER FOR THE OPTICAL L-BAND (1565 - 1625 NM) (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5G.043)
The objective of the activity is to develop an elegant breadboard of a high-power optical amplifier operating in L-band.TargetedImprovements:Enable access to spectrum in the optical transmission window(s) beyond the conventional C-band.Description:To date amplifiers in the optical L-band generate relatively low output power, which reduces their usefulness for high bandwidth data transmission. The activity will develop technologies to enhance t…
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MACHINE LEARNING FRONT-END MODULE FOR SATCOM 5G/6G INTEGRATED ACCESS-BACKHAUL TRANSCEIVERS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 6B.119)
The objective of the activity is to develop, implement and test a breadboard of a digital transceiver front-end capable of switching between access and backhaul modes of operation for integrated satcom-terrestrial 5G/6G networks. The transceiver core shall be supported by an AI/ML engine implemented for a set of commercially available hardware and software platforms. The activity shall also provide the testbed to test the AI/ML-based transceiv…
PROTOCOL FOR 5G INTEGRATED NETWORKS TO ENHANCE RELIABLE POSITIONING (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.024)
The objective of this activity is to design and develop a simulation testbed for secure delivery of assistance data with5G satellite networks to enhance positioning.Targeted Improvements:Foster the use of 5G satellite networks to enhance positioning with ubiquitous, reliable, and secure delivery of assistance data. Enable secure time and frequency synchronisation in existing or future telecommunication infrastructure.Description:Various positi…
LARGE ROTATION RANGE, FLEXIBLE PIVOT WITH HOLLOW INNER SHAFT (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5B.221) - EXPRO PLUS (ON REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop a breadboard of a flexible pivot a with large range of rotation angle (goal90 degrees),which features a hollow inner shaft to route an optical beam for optical communications or cables/waveguide in other applications.Targeted Improvements:One order of magnitude improvement in operating lifetime of coarse pointing mechanisms in optical communication terminals compared to ball bearing mechanisms, and a…
OPTICAL GROUND STATION NETWORK TESTBED (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6B.128)
The objective of this activity is to develop an optical ground station network testbed to which parties can connect their ground station and prototype network-related aspects for optical and quantum communications in an operational network environment. Targeted Improvements:Reduction of manual link planning and analysis effort. Testing and simulation capabilities for optical end-to-end data delivery. Description:The objective of this activity…
SATELLITE COMMUNICATION TEST-BED ON-BOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ARTES AT 3A.118) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
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…
SPECTRUM SHARING TECHNIQUES FOR BEYOND 5G (B5G) AND 6G 3D NETWORKS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3A.185)
The objective of the activity is to investigate and develop spectrum reuse and sharing techniques for integrated NTN-TN 3D networksthat allow them to pool, share, and rapidly reallocate spectrum on demand among their heterogeneous components/segments. The techniques will be prototyped in a testbed to be implemented as part of the activity.Targeted improvements:Enabling spectrum reuse and sharing in integrated NTN-NT 3D networks.Description:Spe…
W-BAND 100W CLASS WAVEGUIDE HIGH POWER ISOLATOR (ARTES AT 5C.517)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a 100W W-band waveguide high power isolator engineering model forfeeder link applications.Targeted Improvements: Enabling technology development for W-band feeder links not existing today in ESAMember States.Description: The usage of the spectrum available in W-band for satellite communications offers the opportunity to reduce the number of gateways in the ground segment. For su…
OPTIMISED VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS FOR CONSTELLATIONS (LEO, MEO, OR MULTI-ORBIT) AND GEO SPACE NETWORKS ( ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.031)
The objectives of this activity are to design, develop and test techniques enabling integration of existing and new VPN solutions suitable for space networks (LEO constellation, MEO constellation or GEO) for the purpose of comparison, performance evaluation and optimisation, while maintaining compatibility with terrestrial networks.
SOFTWARE EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT FOR INTELLIGENT APPLICATIONS (ARTES AT 4G.047)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a configurable execution environment for an intelligent platform data handlingsystemTargeted Improvements:- 30% improvement of the performance of autonomous applications.- 50% reduction of the applicationsoftware integration and validation efforts.Description: The increase of processing power onboard spacecrafts will allow the implementation of intelligent functionalities such as early fail…
SOFTWARE SIMULATOR FOR AIR/SPACE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT VIA SATELLITE FOR HYPERSONIC SPACE PLANES (ARTES 4.0 4S SPL 3A.155 / 4S.013) - EXPRO+
Objective: The objective of the activity is to design and develop a physical layer simulator in order to assess the communication needs, and develop a system concept to support air/space traffic management considering emerging transport means such as hypersonic space planes. Targeted Improvements: Enabling communications for a future European Air/Space Traffic Management System in support of hypersonic space planes. Performance improvement wit…