ESA Open Invitation to Tender: 1-11466
Open Date: 26/10/2022 13:51 CEST
Closing Date: 07/12/2022 13:00 CEST

The magnetographs built for scientific missions, such as HMI on board of SDO or PHI of Solar Orbiter, are complex instruments designed to achieve challenging scientific requirements. Nevertheless, their processing systems do not have sufficient power to achieve the real-time requirements of an operational mission.In general, magnetographs for operational missions for space weather monitoring at L1 and L5 suffer from the fact that the data volumes generated are far in excess of all other instruments combined. Therefore, a major benefit can be realised by optimising the onboard data processing of the images to achieve the highest compression possible thereby reducing the data bandwidth, reducing and increasing the science return. In addition, the latency of the data can be reduced, which directly improves the overall mission performance.Industrialisation is intended to produce the standard elements of the DPU, while involvement of suitable academic institutions will bring knowledge of the latest advanced data processing techniques. The DPU developed in this activity carries out tasks such as image accumulation (375Mbits/s input), data calibration: darks, flat fielding, demodulation, normalization, cross-talk corrections, inversion of the radiative transfer equation (RTE), data compression (50 kbits/s output maximum), synchronisation and control of the magnetograph operation, and communication and data storage offering for the satellite platform.By using novel processing techniques, the DPU shall obtain physical magnitudes via RTE and finally compress the raw data into a useful stream of 0.22% the original size, obtaining ultimately the final L2 data product on-board: maps of the solar vector magnetic field, the line-of-sight (LOS) velocity, and the continuum intensity. Applying specific compression techniques to these data products is considered the only way to reduce the large amount of raw data generated by the magnetograph sensors to cope with the scientific requirements, into a "downloadable" amount for a realistic scenario like the Vigil mission.This activity encompasses the following tasks :- Requirements Review- Trade-off and Identification of critical technologies and processing engines.- Data processing chain architecture and operational concept selection (preliminary design)- Detailed design and manufacturing of the DPU elegant breadboard (EBB)- Full-functional test at ambient pressure and temperature- Performance test at ambient temperature thermal cycling at ambient pressure- Way forward to qualification

Directorate: Directorate of Tech, Eng. Quality
Estabilishment: ESTEC
ECOS Required: No
Classified: No
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Authorised Contact Person: Anze Singer
Initiating Service: TEC-EDD
IP Measure: N/A
Prog. Reference: E/0901-01 - Technology Developme
Tender Type: Open Competition
Open To Tenderers From: AT+BE+CH+CZ+DE+DK+EE+GR+ES+FI+FR+GB+HU+IE+IT+LU+NL+NO+PL+PT+RO+SE
Technology Keywords: 1-A-I-System Technologies for Payload Data Processing / 1-A-II-Hardware Technologies for Payload Data Processing
Products Keywords: 2-F-1-b-Payload Data Handling Units