ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO10204
Open Date: 06/10/2020
Closing Date: 17/12/2020 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 20.1TT.24
Prog. Ref.: CC-AT 4.0.1
Budget Ref.: E/0534-01G – CC-AT 4.0.1
Special Prov.: BE+DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+ES+SE+CH+GB+IE+AT+NO+FI+PT+GR+LU+CZ+RO+CA+HU+PL
Tender Type: C
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / RF / Microwave Communication (Platform and Payloads) / „Communication – BB (Antennas excluded)” / Other
Technology Domains: RF Systems, Payloads and Technologies / Telecommunication Systems/Subsystems / Telecom Signal Processing
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate Telecom & Integrated Applica
Department: Telecom Technologies,Product&Systems Dep
Division: Technologies and Products Division
Contract Officer: Ferreol, Audrey
Industrial Policy Measure: C1 – Activities in open competition limited to the non-Larg…
Last Update Date: 06/10/2020
Update Reason: Tender issue

The objective of the activity is to develop operational concepts based on the Radio with Identity and Location Data for Operations and Space Situational Awareness (RILDOS) standard. One or more RILDOS prototype transmitters will be launched in order tovalidate critical operational elements (such as identification and location after launcher separation, signal coverage). Targeted Improvements: Enabling satellite identification and location for spacecraft without ranging capability. Description: Small satellites are usually launched without tracking and ranging capabilities. Their operators rely on the correct identification and tracking bythird-party Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services. However, the fact that they commonly share the launch with similar spacecraft and are deployed in batches often leads to the misidentification of some and therefore to misinforming their operators. In practice,those operators fail to start operations as they are effectively trying to command a spacecraft that is not theirs. In some cases, it can take up to months before the misidentification is fixed and operations can actually start. For small satellites those few months may be a significant part of their mission lifetime. This is especially critical to telecommunication applications that may not afford such delay in terms of customer satisfaction, service level agreements, time to market or closing the business case. RILDOS is an emerging standard similar to AIS for ships or ADS-B for aircraft. Its purpose is to help identify and track small satellites and improve SSA vis-à-vis other users. The idea is to embark a self-powered beacon that continuously transmits essential information visible and trackable by ground and/or space infrastructure. This would enable a new approach for operating small satellites andtelecommunication missions more safely. The activity will consolidate the RILDOS standard as currently proposed and will develop oneor more prototype transmitter boards. It will test in orbit and validate in real operational conditions critical mission phases andcommunication elements such as identification after launcher separation or signal coverage. The validation will be done by opportunistically piggybacking the transmitters, using flight opportunities commensurate with the budget. The activity will also develop thenecessary ground infrastructure. Procurement Policy: C1: Activities in open competition limited to non-Large-System Integrators (LSIs)) as prime. LSIs are allowed to participate as sub-contractors. For additional information please go to EMITS news „Industrial Policy measures for non-primes, SMEs and RD entities in ESA programmes”.