ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO10256
Open Date: 02/04/2020
Closing Date: 28/05/2020 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 20.118.05
Special Prov.: AT+CZ+DK+FI+DE+HU+NO+PL+PT+CH+RO+GB+IT
Tender Type: C
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Products: Ground Segment / Mission Operations / Other
Technology Domains: Space Debris / Modelling and Risk Analysis / In-orbit Risks
Establishment: ESOC
Directorate: Directorate of Operations
Department: Space Safety Programme Office
Division: Space Debris Office
Contract Officer: Thro, Caroline
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 14/04/2020
Update Reason: Loaded a new Clarification(English version)

There is an internationally recognised need to evaluate the impact of space missions on the space environment consisting of space debris and active space missions. This need is driven by the limitation of the current set of space debris mitigation (SDM) standardsand guidelines and a desired to understand the risks involved. On one hand there is the long-term stability of the space debris environment in Earth orbit, and on the other hand the induced risk on other operational actors in orbit during and after the active part of said missions. While using tools and techniques developed in the frame of SDM activities, the impact of a mission on the space debris environment can be estimated with a metric relying on a few high-level parameters, but with a flexible formulation able to capture the differences between alternative mission architectures (e.g. operational concepts, disposal strategies, etc). The objectiveof this activity is to create a software service and computational back-end for the evaluation of a space mission on the space environment, in support of achieving space sustainability. An end-to-end system will be designed, developed, and deployed in order to assess the environmental impact of a space object or group thereof. Previous ESA developments have demonstrated and explored the use of prototype algorithms to be implemented in an operational context.