HIGH POWER (80KW) X-BAND UPLINK FOR DEEP SPACE MISSIONS – DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL WAVEGUIDE COMPONENTS – T212-059GS
18, January 2019

ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO9639
Open Date: 11/01/2019
Closing Date: 11/03/2019 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 18.112.18
Prog. Ref.: Technology Developme
Budget Ref.: E/0901-01 – Technology Developme
Special Prov.: BE+DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+ES+SE+CH+GB+IE+AT+NO+FI+PT+GR+LU+CZ+RO+PL+EE+HU
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Products: Ground Segment / Ground Station / Antennas / Structure & Thermal, Servo / Mechanics, Reflectors, feeds and diplexers, Antenna Control Units (ACUs), Drive Systems, …
Techology Domains: Ground Station Systems and Networks / Ground Station System / Ground TT&C and Payload Data Reception Antenna Systems / Ground Station Systems and Networks / Ground Station System / Advanced Ground Station Design Concepts / Ground Station Systems and Networks / Ground Station System / Microwave and Optical Active/Passive Systems
Establishment: ESOC
Directorate: Directorate of Operations
Department: Ground Systems Eng. & Innovation Dept.
Division: Ground Station Engineering Division
Contract Officer: Hurtz, Anne Maria
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 11/01/2019
Update Reason: Tender issue

Present ESA Deep Space Stations are equipped with a 20 kW X-Band High Power Amplifier (HPA). Future missions will demand larger uplink power levels, for distant spacecraft or for critical phases like entry descending and landing or for emergency situations.Previous GSP activities concluded that the only viable way to increase the Uplink performances is providing the Deep Space Terminals withan 80 kW transmitter.Critical waveguide components have been identified in a previous TRP activity requiring dedicated development:power loads, waveguide switches, waveguide couplers and waveguide runs.This activity shall start with the consolidation of the technical requirements (insertion loss, VSWR, coupling factor, etc.), followed by a preliminary and a detailed design phase. Prototypes shall be build and tested against requirements (scattering parameters, cooling performance, etc.) and results summarized in test reports.The objectives of this activity are to develop critical waveguide components required to transport high power in RF (80 kW)from the High Power Amplifier (HPA) to the feed system. Waveguide components shall operate over the full 7145 – 7235 MHz X-Band uplink band.

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