ESA Open Invitation to Tender: 1-11093
Open Date: 22/12/2021 17:43 CEST
Closing Date: 10/02/2022 13:00 CEST

The EnVision satellite will perform an extensive aerobraking campaign after Venus orbital insertion to reach the science orbit. To meet the aerobraking duration requirement of the mission, additional drag surface areas can be included on the satellite in the formof flaps. Flaps can benefit the aerobraking strategy by decreasing the ballistic coefficient of the spacecraft, e.g. as an extension of the solar arrays or of the Spacecraft main bus but with very low mass density to minimise the dry mass penalty on the vehicle. The design needs to be suitable to the Venus aerothermal-mechanical environment, with special attention to the effects of atomic oxygen environment and mechanical fatigue over the several thousand passes during the aerobraking phase. The activity is targeting TRL5by the end of 2023. The activity will analyse the applicable relevant environment, perform the trade-off and baseline selection of the aerobraking flap assembly in terms of material selection and flap assembly design, supported by breadboarding and testing in relevant environment (including at least thermal cycling and atomic oxygen exposure) to reach the target TRL level of 5. Note: The activity could be coordinated with an internal ATOX sample testing campaign running at ESTEC in 2022/2023 with the possibility to test candidate flap materials. The activity foresees the following tasks: o Aerobraking Flap Design (6m duration) : – Preliminary design and trade-offs – Material evaluation and research – Thermal, structural, fatigue and ATOX analysis – Selection of baseline design – Development and qualification test plan – Development plan and ROM cost, including qualification o Breadboard development (12m duration): – Material characterisation – Breadboard verification test in relevant environment (TRL5).

Directorate: Directorate of Science
Estabilishment: ESTEC
ECOS Required: No
Classified: No
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Authorised Contact Person: Guiomar Perez
Initiating Service: SCI-F
IP Measure: N/A
Prog. Reference: E/0401-01B – CTP – General
Tender Type: Open Competition
Open To Tenderers From: AT+BE+CH+CZ+DE+DK+EE+EL+ES+FI+FR+GB+HU+IE+IT+LU+NL+NO+PL+PT+RO+SE
Technology Keywords: 20-D-II-Design and Verification Technologies for Metallic Structures / 20-G-IV-Control Surfaces, Design and Verification Technologies / 21-D-I-Coatings and Insulation / 24-B-II-Coating
Products Keywords: 2-N-all.1-h-Other / 2-O-2-a-Coating and insulation