ESA Open Invitation To Tender AO8581
Open Date: 19/04/2016
Closing Date: 01/06/2016 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 16.112.03
Prog. Ref.: TRP
Budget Ref.: E/0901-01 – TRP
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: 4B3a
Techology Domains: 12AIV
Establishment: ESOC
Department: Ground Systems Engineering Department
Division: Ground Station Systems Division
Contract Officer: Bednarek, Maren
Industrial Policy Measure: C1 – Activities in open competition limited to the non-Larg…
Last Update Date: 19/04/2016
Update Reason: Tender issue

Earth Observation (EO) missions will soon start to use the 26 GHz. The higher speed downlink at 26 GHz enables to avoid the downlink bottleneck. When the satellite is using isoflux antennas to download the payload data, the antennas in the Ground Station (GS) need to be big (e.g. 13 m diameter), in order to cope with the reduced link budget. The GS antenna beam width will then be very narrow. The use of advanced coding schemes (like VCM and SCCC) facilitates the needed ultra-high downlink data rates, but the price is the very low energy density, that makes it difficult to track the satellite using the standard non-coherent monopulse antenna tracking receivers. Moreover, the very narrow antenna beam width of the 26 GHz band reception antennas, that are required, makes the tracking of the fast LEO satellites even more difficult. At low elevation angles, the characteristics of the 26 GHz band signal are particularly hard to track by the monopulse receiver due to the propagation particularities of this band (high atmospheric attenuation and scintillation), but also for the fast dynamics. A significant percentage of the LEO passes, the satellite signal is received in low elevation angles. A monopulse enhanced antenna tracking receiver (eATRK) is required, that is able to extract the required information to control the antenna pointing, from the downlink signal received at the 26 GHz band stations antennas with monopulse feeds. The activity shall define the best structure and algorithms that are required for the eATRK. It shall first analyse the characteristics of the downlink signal received from the LEO satellites at 26 GHz, in order to produce the more efficient architecture. C(1) = Activity restricted to non-prime contractors (incl. SMEs). For additional information please go to EMITS news (dated 05/02/2001) “Industrial Policy measures for non-primes, SMEs and RD entities in ESA programmes”.

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