EXPRO + NAVISP ELEMENT 1 (NAVISP-EL1-015): FEASIBILITY STUDY OF A SPACE-BASED RELATIVISTIC PNT SYSTEM RE-ISSUE
3, December 2018

ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO9646
Open Date: 26/11/2018
Closing Date: 15/01/2019 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 18.154.29
Prog. Ref.: NAVISP Element 1
Budget Ref.: E/0365-10 – NAVISP Element 1
Special Prov.: AT+BE+CZ+DE+DK+FI+NO+RO+CH+GB+NL
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 100-200 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / Other
Techology Domains: RF Systems, Payloads and Technologies / Radio Navigation Systems/Subsystems / Navigation System Tools
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate of Navigation
Department: Strategy and Programme Department
Division: NAVISP Programme Office
Contract Officer: Papaioannou, Maria
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 26/11/2018
Update Reason: Modified the Letter of Invitation (English version)

This EXPRO+ procurement is part of the NAVISP Programme, under Elelment 1, Work Plan 2018.All GNSS in operation at present are based on Newtonian physics and rely on global reference frames fixed to Earth. Relativistic effects are treated as deviations that need to be corrected for. Precision and stability in time of the reference frames is provided via ground stations and they are limitedby the Earth´s dynamics and atmosphere. Several theoretical concepts have been proposed for the use of Relativistic Positioning Systems (RPS) and the required relativistic reference frames. These have been studied with different approaches during the last years and the consistency with the General Relativity has been demonstrated. However, none of the proposed approaches were intended to be practical. The proposed activity will address the maturity of RPS for timing and positioning applications, the definition of a consolidated concept and architecture for a RPS constellation suitable for navigation both in the Earth surface and the near-Earth Space,and the High Level Requirements for a proof-of-concept based on current and near-future available state of the art technology.

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