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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.
SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORKING-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTED DENIAL OF SERVICES PROTECTION OF 5G NON TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.027)
The objective of this activity is to identify+ develop and test Software Defined Networking (SDN) based solutions for 5G Core Network (CN)+ capable of addressing efficiently and effectively Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks against 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks. This activity will develop a testbed of SDN implementation for 5G CN to test protection mechanisms against various attack scenarios for relevant 5G NTN use cases+ and study t…
ARTES 4.0 SPL OPTICAL COMMUNICATION - SCYLIGHT: RF AND OPTICAL HYBRID GATEWAY ANTENNA (6C.002/SL.024)(ON DELEGATION REQUEST) - EXPRO PLUS
Objective:The objective of this activity is to investigate a telecom gateway antenna able to work simultaneously in both the RF (Ka- Q/V-Band) and optical wavelengths.Targeted Improvements:This product is currently not available and it would allow a phased migration from RF communications to optical communications.Description:There is a clear trend in the need to increase bandwidth in order to increase the data rate, within the telecommunicat…
ONBOARD DATA HANDLING SUB-SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS SATELLITES (ARTES AT 4G.044)
The objective is to develop an onboard data handling architecture capable of autonomously acquiring, processing and interpreting housekeeping and telemetry data and taking the required actions without ground intervention. The activity will develop a data handlingsub-system demonstrator to validate the intelligent functionalities, including prognostic and health management (PHM) capabilitiesTargeted Improvements: Enabling technology development…
KA-BAND RADIO FREQUENCY FRONT-END RESISTANT TO INTENTIONAL INTERFERENCE FOR SECURE TTC (ARTES 4.0 4S SPL 4G.041)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a Scaled Engineering Model of rugged Ka-band RF front-end for secure TTC applications that will enable technologies for mitigation of intentional interference. Targeted Improvements: Ability to operate under severe Radio Frequency Interference. Description: TTC is a key equipment for all satellites since it provides the umbilical cord to the control station(s). It has to operate…
10W PER MM CLASS THERMALLY ENHANCED HIGH EFFICIENCY MICROWAVE POWER AMPLIFIERS (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.491) (RE-ISSUE)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a breadboard of a high-power amplifier in Ku-band or above with 10 W/mm class of power density in continuous wave operation. The selected manufacturing process will allow a smaller chip size with reduced junction temperature, reduced thermal memory effects and improved efficiency.Targeted Improvements:- 3-5 times improvementin power density.- Junction temperature reduction of te…
PIONEER PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS (PIONEER 4.0) - OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSAL
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 statesto participate in the programme. It will b…
POWER EFFICIENT DESIGN OF RADIO FREQUENCY PAYLOAD ALGORITHMS ON SYSTEM ON CHIP (ARTES AT 5C.513)
The objective of the activity is to identify and benchmark power efficient radio frequency algorithms on complex System on Chip (SoC) devices. Power efficient algorithms for at least two applications case (e.g. beamforming, decoding/encoding, neural networks...) will be designed, developed and tested and compared to programmable logic only implementation.Targeted Improvements: 50% reductionpower consumption for radio frequency algorithms with…
ZERO-TRUST ARCHITECTURE FOR LOW EARTH ORBIT REGENERATIVE PAYLOADS ( ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.029)
The objective of this activity is to design+ implement+ and validate a zero-trust architecture for a Low Earth Orbit regenerative 5G gNodeB+ that mitigates the security risks specific to 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks.
ARTES 4.0 SPL OPTICAL COMMUNICATION - SCYLIGHT : DEMONSTRATION OF RELIABLE HIGH DATA RATE OPTICAL LINKS UNDER STRONG ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE CONDITIONS (3B.042 / SL.015)
Objective:The objective of this activity is to demonstrate reliable high data rate optical transmission through the atmosphere (>100Gbps) in a scenario representative (in terms of link attenuation and optical turbulence) of an optical link between a telecom satellite and an Optical Ground Station for elevation angles down to 5deg. Targeted Improvements:Improve the service quality and availability of high data rate optical links through the…
DIGITAL TWIN FOR ON-ORBIT ASSEMBLY AND MANUFACTURING OF VERY LARGE ANTENNAS (ARTES AT 5B.235)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a digital-twin for on-orbit assembly and manufacturing of antennas up to 30-50metres diameter. An end-to-end manufacturing process will be selected and guidance, navigation and control techniques for assembly and manufacturing on-orbit will be developed. A simple large reflector antenna will be designed, and assembly and manufacturing will be evaluated with the developed digital twin.Targete…
IN-ORBIT EXPERIMENT OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE DATA TRANSPORT, SWITCHING AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES FOR TELECOM APPLICATIONS IN LOW EARTH ORBIT (ARTES AT 3E.017) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and perform an in-orbit experiment of high-performance data transport, switching and processing technologies consisting of several key building blocks like processors, mass memory, switches and optical interconnects, allowing a data throughput of up to 10 Terabit per second to enable future high performance telecommunication applications. Targeted Improvements: Improvement by a factor of two…
LUNAR LASER COMMUNICATION TERMINAL (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5G.045)
Objective: The objective of the activity is to first design a Laser Communication Terminal (LCT) concept suitable for communicationover lunar distances. In a second step, the activity will develop an engineering model of a CCSDS compatible transceiver with critical functions including coding, synchronisation, and modulation. Targeted Improvements: Enabling a European or Canadian lunar communication terminal operating with a data rate one order…
FREE-SPACE COHERENT OPTICAL LINK FOR TIME AND FREQUENCY TRANSFER (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5F.041)
The objective of the activity is to develop and prototype a free-space optical Frequency and Timing transfer solution over a coherent optical link optimised for the use case of linking critical infrastructure and metrology applications.Targeted Improvements:The two parameters to be improved over existing RF-based techniques are time and frequency transfer accuracy (factor 5 to 10 improvement), resistance to interference and robustness of the l…
ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3A.199 RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR JAMMING MITIGATION IN NGSO CONSTELLATIONS
The objective of the activity is to design, develop and test jamming mitigation strategies for NGSO broadband secure systems based on adaptive radio resource management algorithms.
DISTINCT TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE SATELLITE SYSTEM FOR SIMULTANEOUS TWO-WAY LOW DATA RATE COMMUNICATION SERVICES (ARTES AT 3A.202)
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…
SOLAR ARRAY TO POWER DIRECTLY AN ELECTRICAL PROPULSION SYSTEM (ARTES AT 4F.163) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test coupons to pave the way for high-power, high-voltage solar arrays (e.g., 300 Vplus) feeding directly electric propulsion systems. Targeted Improvements:- Increased solar array output voltage from 100V to at least 300V for high power solar arrays.- Enabling direct feed of solar array power to electrical propulsion systems. Description: Inorder to feed power generated by solar arrays directly…
AUTONOMOUS LASER SAFETY SYSTEM FOR OPTICAL FEEDER LINK SUPPORTING OPTICAL AND QUANTUM COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6B.114) - RE-ISSUE
Objective: The objective of the activity is to develop and test a laser safety system for Optical Feeder Link (OFL) operations based on AI/ML techniques. The activity shall emphasise on airspace safety measures to handle uplink operations with significant opticalpower. The safety system shall be capable to operate autonomously. Implementation shall be based on commercially available hardwareplatforms. The activity will also provide the testbed…
ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE EFFECT MITIGATION BY SECONDARY MIRROR ACTUATION (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6C.020)
Objective: The objective of this activity is to simplify optical feeder links systems in Optical Ground Stations by replacing the secondary mirror with an active (deformable) one and to demonstrate the improvement in transmission budget and complexity. Targeted Improvements: 30% increased optical throughput in optical communication ground stations. 20% reduction of complexity in adaptive optics and beam pre-distortion in feeder-link systems. R…
ACCELEROMETER FOR DRAG COMPENSATION IN VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT (ARTES AT 4C.069) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test an accelerometer for drag compensation in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). Targeted Improvements: - Enabling real time compensation of drag by the propulsion system. - Miniaturisation of instrument by a factor 10 compared to existing payload grade accelerometers. - Increase accuracy by factor 10 compared to existing accelerometers used for orbital control.Description: While intere…
CHANNEL ESTIMATION AND ADAPTATION TECHNIQUES FOR Q/V BAND FEEDER LINKS OF LEO/MEO CONSTELLATION (ARTES AT 3B.048)
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test channel estimation and adaptation techniques as needed for Q/V band feeder links of LEO/MEO constellation with regenerative on-board processors. An end-to-end system testbed will be developed that includes varying channel, antenna and hardware impairments in the downlink and uplink depending on the elevation angle. The testbed willinclude the baseband, analogue and RF domain to test…
RESILIENT AND SECURE MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS FROM UNMANNED AERIAL/MARITIME VEHICLES USING MULTIPLE UNRELIABLE NETWORKS (ARTES 4.0 4S SPL 3A.172) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is the design and demonstration of network protocols that can use multiple unreliable satellite and terrestrial networks for increased resilience and security for retrieval of multimedia data with multiple QoS classes from drones and unmanned maritime vessels. Targeted Improvements: This technique will allow at least 50% increase in the number of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that can be supported in the same s…
DRAG AND ATOMIC OXYGEN RESISTANT CARBON FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER FOR VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT TELECOM SATELLITES (ARTES AT 4A.092) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a coating material (e.g. for substrates such as carbon fibre reinforced polymer, polymers, etc) with improved atomic oxygen and drag resistance to be used on the external satellite surfaces for very low Earth orbit applicationsTargeted Improvements:- Enabling technology not existing today; allowing telecommunication satellites with conventional construction materials in much lower orbits tha…
COMPACT TRIBOLOGY-FREE POINTING MECHANISM (ARTES AT 4E.094)
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…
EUROPEAN CHIP INDUCTOR FOR POINT OF LOAD CONVERTERS IN TELECOMMUNICATION SATELLITES (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.499)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test surface mount chip inductors enabling low voltage (down to 0.8 V range) stability, fast transient response, high-speed switching capability and efficient power conversion of point of load(POL) converters, as needed for next generation digital integrated circuits in telecommunication satellites.Targeted Improvements:- Enablinga European source.- 20% mass and volume reduction and 2…
FACETED RECONFIGURABLE REFLECTOR BASED ON REFLECT ARRAY TECHNOLOGY (ARTES AT 5B.242)
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…