ESA Open Invitation To Tender AO8614
Open Date: 24/05/2016
Closing Date: 02/08/2016 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 16.1TT.71
Prog. Ref.: ARTES 5 Sub-El. 5.1
Budget Ref.: E/0505-01B – ARTES 5 Sub-El. 5.1
Special Prov.: BE+DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+ES+SE+CH+GB+IE+AT+NO+FI+PT+LU+CZ+RO+CA
Tender Type: C
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Products: Ground Segment / Ground Segment Network (or Ground Comm. sub-net) / Interface Equipment (NDIU)
Technology Domains: Ground Station Systems and Networks / Ground Communications Networks / Communication Network Technologies and Protocols
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate Telecom & Integrated Applica
Department: Telecom Technologies, Product & Systems Dep
Division: Technologies and Product Division
Contract Officer: Dorval, Nathalie
Industrial Policy Measure: C1 – Activities in open competition limited to the non-Larg…
Last Update Date: 24/05/2016
Update Reason: Tender issue

The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test an antenna breadboard representative of a low profile, actively scanning transmit-receive Satellite User Terminal full size antenna. Targeted Improvements: The activity targets the demonstration of new ground segment antenna concept utilizing novel, low cost steering technology with low power consumption. Description: There is a commercial strong interest in developing reconfigurable antenna completely electronic with limited thickness, large field of view and limited overall power consumption. This is difficult and expensive to develop with current conventional technologies. In the last years several technologies have been showing promising results to improve on this. Using liquid crystal technology as reconfigurable phase shifters is one possible, promising example. Polarisers and reflect-array antennas based on this technology have been successfully demonstrated at frequency around 100 GHz in the framework of a recent ESA TRP activity. Other promising activities have been running in Europe where liquid crystals as variable phase shifters have been demonstrated at around 30 GHz. Today new mixtures with significantly reduced insertion losses are under optimization and these materials start being competitive with other more conventional technologies (like pin or varactor diodes). The activity will include the following tasks: Identification of the most promising technology and concepts; Design of innovative Tx/Rx antenna solutions; Manufacturing and testing of a limited breadboard. Procurement Policy: C(1) = Activity restricted to non-prime contractors (incl. SMEs). For additional information please go to EMITS news “Industrial Policy measures for non-primes, SMEs and R&D entities in ESA programmes”.

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