Future Space Ecosystem and Enabling Technologies -

Enable the industrialisation and new services in space by intelligent solutions and competitive concepts, exploiting synergies with terrestrial sectors and cultivating an “AppStore”, Open-Architecture and Standardisation mentality towards quickly developed, sustainable, highly automated, flexible and economically viable space systems and infrastructure.

Enabling technologies shall improve space systems and satellites’ flexibility and cost-efficiency, increase sustainability and accessibility, introduce mass-customisation and cooperative design as well as simplify and optimise operations. This is needed to access a large portfolio of promising commercial applications in space and on ground. Those technologies can be used for missions addressing any type of applications (in-space servicing, satellite telecommunications, EO, robotics for exploration and In-Situ Resource Utilisation etc.). The list of enabling technologies includes but is not limited to:

• Electric Propulsion
• Robotics incl. hardware, software, control
• Automation incl. hardware, software, processes
• Artificial Intelligence
• Software factory, automatic code generation

All technologies can be used/researched especially in combination with standardisation, modularisation and digitalisation.

This topic aims at enabling efficient in-space services (e.g. maintenance, assembly, manufacture, logistics, warehousing and disassembly/reuse/recycling) by focussing on target-oriented development and qualification of innovative, game-changing technologies, key technology building blocks as well as new applications and services for the future space ecosystem.

Each project is expected to contribute to one or several of the following outcomes:

• A future space ecosystem, fostering the industrialisation and business in space as well as supporting scientifically meaningful, cost-efficient missions by using synergies with terrestrial sectors;
• A sustainable, highly automated, flexible and economically viable space infrastructure, building on technologies and concepts for a circular economy in space, e.g. plug-and-play spacecraft functionality introducing recycling/re-use of spacecraft modules/functionalities;
• New technologies and approaches for future space systems, application and services such as on-orbit services (OOS) including maintenance, assembly, manufacturing, highly automated re-configuration, recycling, logistics, warehousing, etc.;
• Support activities to enable in-orbit demonstration/validation (IOD/V);
• Short to medium term disruptive development and maturation of key technologies (up to TRL 7);
• Contribute to European non-dependence for the development of Space technologies.

This topic will contribute to, in the medium to long term, developing, deploying global space-based services and contribute to fostering the European space sector competitiveness, as stated in the expected impact of this destination.

The areas of R&I, which need to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes are:

1) R&I on generic building blocks technologies for electric propulsion systems considering paradigms relevant for industrialisation (e.g. miniaturisation, scalability, flexibility, cost reduction). The activities should aim at anticipating and adapting to future market and application needs in a future space ecosystem (e.g. on-orbit logistic services, maintenance, assembly, de-orbiting, debris removal).

2) Development and maturation of technologies and concepts with a clear application, pathway to applications and business sustainability in mind. Applications domains can be for example:

• Innovative approaches for operations, e.g. multi-orbit constellations, upgrade/re-configuration of existing space assets for multi-mission purposes
• Next generation of services, e.g. satellite life extension, maintenance/upgrading, assembly, recycling, logistic or warehouse services
• Enabling technologies that contribute to a sustainable, commercially viable space infrastructure, space debris mitigation and on-orbit services
• Serial production and manufacturing concepts of reliable small satellites or other space infrastructure elements, enhancing flexibility, allowing mass-customization, and fostering the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products/components
• Software for mission control, cloud-based data rooms, improving ground-based reception equipment (both ground stations and transmit/receive antennas for mobile applications).
• New hardware and software approaches to shorten development, test and integration of sub-systems/equipment/components or to allow re-use/recycle platform functionalities in space by making use of e.g. novel design paradigms such as standardised, functional satellite modules.

A proposal should address only one area, which must be clearly identified.

Projects are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs, Start-ups, research institutions and academia) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into commercial space usage.

Proposals should explore relevant and promising solutions derived in Horizon 2020 activities, especially project results from the Strategic Research Clusters Space Robotics Technologies[1] and Electric Propulsion[2].

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

[1] www.h2020-peraspera.eu

[2] www.epic-src.eu

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