Title: DEVELOPMENT AND PROCUREMENT OF IMBU MK-IV
Open Date: 11/02/2015
Closing Date: 08/04/2015

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 15.112.05
Prog. Ref.: ESTRACK Infrastr
Budget Ref.: E/0700-3-5 – ESTRACK Infrastr
Special Prov.: B+DK+F+D+I+NL+E+S+CH+GB+IRL+A+N+FIN+POR+GR+LUX+CZ+RO+PL+CDN
Tender Type: C
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Establishment: ESOC
Directorate: Directorate Human Spaceflight & Operatio
Department: Ground Systems Engineering Department
Division: Ground Station Systems Division
Contract Officer: Frigot, Emma
Last Update Date: 11/02/2015
Update Reason: Tender issue

The European Space Agency (ESA) operates a network S/X/Ka-band antennas for Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) operations of different categories of spacecraft. The Ground Systems Engineering Department (HSO-G) of the ESA Directorate Of Human Spaceflight and Operations (D/HSO), located at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), is responsible for the design, development and procurement of the ground station infrastructure required to operate ESA satellites, including the above mentioned antennas and its associated equipment. This network is complemented with the GSRF (Ground Station Reference Facility), located at ESOC in Darmstadt. The GSRF can reproduce the configuration of ESTRACK stations and test the compatibility of the spacecraft’s communications subsystem with ESAground network. One component of the test and validation functions of ESTRACK and GSRF is the Portable Satellite Simulator (PSS).The PSS can generate a TM downlink and receive a TC uplink either at IF or data levels, and simulated the spacecraft’s communication subsystem during the testing and validation tasks. The PSS is composed of a software part or GSTVI (Ground Station Test and Validation Infrastructure) and a hardware part or IMBU. The IMBU is employed to provide the modulation/demodulation and coding /decoding hardware layers, interfacing between a Software spacecraft data simulation and a segment of Ground Infrastructure, allowing thus electrical interface testing, coding validation and spacecraft data validation (e.g. Mission Database validation). The IMBU; in combination with the GSTVI, will transmit Telemetry data and receive Telecommand data, baseband or modulated, allowing the easy simulation of spacecraft Telecommand processing and Telemetry generation. The system is designed to replace ESA’s previous PSS systems and to be deployed at ESA’s GSRF, NDIU, and Deep Space Stations. The primary functions of the IMBU are: 1.Baseband processing, encoding andmodulation of Telemetry frames: -Radio frequency and modulation -Telemetry synchronisation and channel coding 2.Baseband Reception and Processing of Telecommand data in accordance with: -Radio frequency and modulation -TC Synchronisation and Channel Coding. 3.BER test by comparing the TM data modulated into the TM IF carrier and comparing with the demodulated data received from the Station’s modem. The IMBU shall be implemented as a flexible system that can be easily reconfigured for testing the ground station to spacecraft communications, interfacing at different levels (IF, subcarrier, baseband data, uncoded data, …).

If you wish to access the documents related to the Invitation to Tender, you have to log in to the ESA portal.