Key in this initial stage is assessing the compatibility with the EDRS mission, as well as the identification of funding sources, either private or public. Please note that further communications (provision of initial feedback, possibility of further questions, broadcast of general-interest Q&A) will only be done with proponents having submitted a Notice of Intent.
This Announcement of Opportunity will determine the set of best matching payloads with the available resources in EDRS-C, compatible with the EDRS project requirements and providing full funding coverage with secured funding sources outside of the current EDRS financial subscriptions.
A workshop is planned on 22 and 23 September at ESA’s ESTEC facility in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, to clarify the selection process, conditions, and information required. Presentation sessions will be organised with general Q&A sessions as well as possibility of short slots for one-to-one Q&A on aspects specific to a proponent proposal.
Proposal submissions are due by 7 October 2011. Retained proposals will receive additional technical and contractual information to allow for a refined proposal to be submitted by mid December 2011. The final selection of EDRS hosted payloads will be made on the basis of these refined proposals.
The EDRS programme intends to ignite the emergence of a new type of satellite telecom service for future Earth Observation constellations by providing a data relay function via a new telecom geostationary infrastructure. Through a public-private partnership, the EDRS-C GEO satellite is being developed as part of this infrastructure and will ultimately be owned and operated by the selected EDRS operator and service provider.
This Announcement of Opportunity calls for hosted payload proposals to be embarked on EDRS-C with the general concept of sharing the cost of satellite resources and of the launch. This allows lowering the cost for the EDRS programme whilst also providing access to space for a lower cost for the hosted payload proponents.
Please refer to the following documents located on ESA's Electronic Mail Invitation to Tendering system (EMITS) for complete details:
http://emits.esa.int/emits-doc/ESTEC/eliEDRShostedpayload.pdf
http://emits.esa.int/emits-doc/ESTEC/EDRShostedpayloadAO.pdf
For further information, email payloadcfi@esa.int
