ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO9314
Open Date: 31/05/2019
Closing Date: 06/09/2019 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 18.1TT.47
Prog. Ref.: CC for Advanced Tech
Budget Ref.: E/0505-01C – CC for Advanced Tech
Special Prov.: BE+DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+ES+SE+CH+GB+IE+AT+NO+FI+PT+GR+LU+CZ+RO+CA+HU
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / AOCS & GNC / Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) / Hybrid Navigation Units (IMU/GPS, ..)
Technology Domains: Space System Control / Control Systems Innovative Technologies / Competitive AOCS Technologies
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate Telecom & Integrated Applica
Department: Telecom Technologies,Product&Systems Dep
Division: Technologies and Products Division
Contract Officer: Mezzadri, Monica
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 03/06/2019
Update Reason: Summary updated

On Delegation Request (formerly called Priority 2)The objective is to develop, manufacture and test a hybrid navigatorfor telecommunication missions, aiming at implementing a navigation unit composed of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) in the same board.Targeted Improvements:Reduction of harness, mass (40%) and volume (50%) of the combined unit,Improvement of integration and operations compared to single unit avionics.Latency reduction of communication between the GNSS and IMU.Description:The GNSS receiver is used in connection with gyroscopes and other sensing devices to ease operation during electric orbit raising and/or on station. The complete sensing suite is nowadays rather complex to integrate and operate, large in terms of mass, power, and volume requirements, and expensive. There are attempts to integrate a subset of sensors into the on-board computer (OBC), but not all primes follow this trend. Some are looking to join sensors outside the OBC perimeter, e.g. star tracker and gyro.The activity aims to develop and validate a tightly coupled hybrid GNSS+IMU navigator on a single board, avoiding the use of an accelerometer. The navigator shall be composed of a GNSS receiver, an Inertial Measurement Unit, and the software to hybridize both. An analysis and trade-off of AOCS architectures for telecommunications satellite platform systems and their operations will be needed. The GNSS signal in LEO, MEO, and GEO environment for hybrid navigation will be characterised. The SAVOIR architecture as reference implementation of the navigator avionics interfaces, and operational scenarios (GNC output, Space-to-Ground TM/TC, etc.), FDIR, etc. shall be considered. This unit targets telecommunication spacecraft with low thrust in which, during electric orbit raising, the position and orientation is continuously changing and needs to be calculated autonomously on board with aminimum ground intervention.A hybrid navigator breadboard, with its software shall be designed, developed, manufactured and tested. Delegation Request (formerly called Priority 2) activities will only be initiated on the explicit request of at least one National Delegation.