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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.
HIGH IMPULSE ARGON ELECTRIC THRUSTER (ARTES AT 4B.181)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test an electric thruster using Argon propellant, compatible with the long lifetime and high total impulse requirements of telecommunication satellites in GEO and for constellations.Targeted Improvements:- Novel capability to operate with Argon propellant not existing today.- Improved lifetime and Total Impulse per kW(N.s/kW) by a factor of 2.- Decreased complexity of the thruster arc…
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…
UNCOORDINATED SATELLITE ACCESS SCHEME OVER-THE-AIR DEMONSTRATION IN MARITIME VHF BANDS (ARTES AT 3C.030) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test signal reception techniques that enable uncoordinated satellite access schemesin the maritime bands for VHF Data Exchange (VDE) by a population of maritime transmitters in the presence of in-band interference from maritime and external sources such as in-land terrestrial services. The techniques will be implemented and evaluated in a prototype receiver to be developed as part of the activity…
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…
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…
MASS PRODUCTION THRUSTER TESTING TECHNOLOGY (ARTES AT 4B.175) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop a concept for efficient testing of thrusters for large constellations that reduces the test-setup complexity and test duration by an order of magnitude. The concept shall be implemented and experimentally validated in ascalable testbed for high volume testing of the electric propulsion systems. Targeted Improvements: Increase the number of electricthrusters (minimum of 4 to 8) to be tested simultaneo…
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…
ARTES 4.0 SPACE SYSTEMS FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY (4S) ROLLING WORK PLAN 2020-2021
1. Introduction.Four new technology and product development activities are added in 2021, that have already been identified as useful to the foreseen development of next-generation 4S solutions over the coming years. These work plan activities will be issued under the legal framework of the ARTES 4.0 Strategic Programme Line (SPL) Space Systems for Safety and Security (4S).2. ImplementationPhasing: phasing of the contractual activities may be…
MULTI-CONSTELLATION CONNECTED TERMINAL PROTOTYPE FOR FIXED WING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAV) (ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 7A.075)
The objective of this activity is to design, develop, test in a lab environment and over representative conditions a multi-constellation broadband UAV terminal prototype, i.e. a fixed-wing UAV terminal prototype including modem and RF front-end, that transmits via multiple beams towards multiple satellite orbits (GSO or NGSO) high data rate payload data to both commercial and governmental frequency bands.
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…
LESS THAN ONE WATT STANDBY ON-OFF POWER SWITCHING FRONT END FOR TELECOM UNITS (ARTES 4.0 AT 4F.164)
The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test an on-off power switching front end for all platform units, consuming less than 1W when set in standby mode and capable to turn on the unit power converter with a command sent over the power bus.Targeted Improvements:- Reduction of 15% of the platform harness mass, of the AIT operations.- Reduction of the unit mass by 10% and of platform dissipation by 30%-50%.- Simplification o…
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…
IN-ORBIT EXPERIMENT OF BEYOND LINE-OF-SIGHT GROUND TO LEO LINKS USING IONOSPHERIC REFRACTION (ARTES AT 3E.002) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to test the performance of beyond line-of-sight narrow-band communication links between ground andLEO satellites in operational conditions. One of the key aspects of the experiment is the effect of ionospheric refraction and reflection as an enabler of satellite links beyond the line of sight. The activity will include the development of a small payload and aground terminal. Targeted Improvements:Enabling new s…
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…
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…
BATTERIES BASED ON EUROPEAN COMMERCIAL OF THE SHELF BATTERY CELL TECHNOLOGY (ARTES AT 4F.145) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is to develop, design, manufacture and test a battery with European Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) battery cells for telecom space applications. Targeted Improvements:- At least 20% mass reduction at battery level;- Enabling European independency and continuity of technology sourcing. Description: Current state-of-the-art space Li-Ion cell technology can provide around 180 Wh/kg, while Li-Ion COTS cell technolog…
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…
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…
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 will include the baseband, analogue and RF domain to tes…
CATHODE FOR OXYGEN-RICH ENVIRONMENT (ARTES 4.0 AT 4B.172)
The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test a cathode for use as a neutraliser in electric propulsion systemsand suitable for operation in an oxygen-rich environment for a long duration of time (e.g. >5 years).Targeted Improvements:Enabling cathode capable of operating in an oxygen-rich environment for more than a few hours.Description: Platforms operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) require prolonged and/or continu…
ANTENNA FOR UNIVERSAL SATELLITE-TERRESTRIAL 5G LAND MOBILE TERMINALS (ARTES SPL 5G 7C.061) (UPON DELEGATION REQUEST)
Upon Delegation Request (*) The objective of the activity is to develop and validate a mobile terminal antenna that supports satellite connectivity and terrestrial 5G. A prototype of the antenna will be manufactured and tested in a laboratory environment. Targeted Improvements: Terminal size, weight and power reduction (30 to 50%) achieved by integrating 5G satellite and terrestrial antenna systems.The integration of satellite communications…
HIGH EFFICIENCY Q-BAND POWER AMPLIFIER MONOLITHIC MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR ACTIVE ANTENNAS (ARTES AT 5B.238)
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…
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…
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR DIGITAL TWIN OF ATTITUDE AND ORBIT CONTROL SYSTEM EQUIPMENTS (ARTES 4.0 AT 4C.068)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a cyber-physical modelling for a Digital Twin of AOCS sensors. A multi-physic model-based Digital Twin can be used to perform on-board self-calibration employing data-driven techniques and simplify the ground verification of new satellite platforms by having a direct dispersion of the different parameters, hence reducing complex Monte Carlodispersions. Targeted Improvements: Enabling on-boar…
5G NEW RADIO (NR) NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS RELEASE 18 PROTOCOL STACK ENHANCEMENTS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.011)
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…