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The European Space Agency (ESA) Europe's gateway to space
ESA is a collaboration of 17 European countries that have bundled their resources to realise pioneering space projects. The organisation was founded in 1975 and has extended gradually with the addition of new member states. Luxembourg and Greece joined in 2005. The European Space Agency (ESA) shapes the development of Europe’s space capability and ensures that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe.
ESA member states ESA’s 17 member states are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Canada, Hungary, and the Czech Republic also participate in some projects under cooperation agreements. As can be seen from this list, not all member countries of the European Union are members of ESA and not all ESA member states are members of the EU. ESA is an entirely independent organisation, although it maintains close ties with the EU through an ESA/EC framework agreement. The two organisations share a joint European strategy for space and together are developing a European space policy. Ensuring competitiveness On behalf of its member states ESA develops scientific satellites, earth observation/ telecom and navigation satellites, elements for human spaceflight and launchers. The actual construction of satellites and launchers is entrusted to Europe's space industry under the direction of ESA. As a consequence, ESA is able to facilitate fascinating projects and provides for a European space industry that can compete worldwide. ESA’s budget and funding ESA’s budget for 2006 amounts to 2.9 billion euro. About 85% of the budget goes via ESA to the European space industry and research institutes where the actual construction of space hardware takes place. ESA ensures that each country receives roughly the same sum by way of orders as it contributes financially to the organisation. European per capita investment in space is very little. On average, every citizen of an ESA Member State pays, in taxes for expenditure on space, about the same as the price of a cinema ticket. In the United States, investment in civilian space activities is almost four times as much. Working for ESA ESA employs about 1,900 international specialists, spread over establishments in The Netherlands, (ESTEC), Germany (Space Operations Centre, ESOC, and the Astronaut Training Centre, EAC), France (Headquarters), Italy (Earth Observation Centre, ESRIN) and Spain (European Space Astronomy Centre). ESA’s launch base is located in South America, in French Guyana, near the town of Kourou. In addition, ESA has liaison offices in Belgium, the United States, and Russia as well as ground and tracking stations in various areas of the world.
The telecommunications department European industry and European telecommunication operators are at the forefront of the huge international satcom market – thanks, in part, to the vision and the effort the European Space Agency and its member states. ESA’s telecommunications department is responsible for managing telecommunications projects, the technology activities related to telecommunications and monitoring the performance of the ESA telecommunications satellites in orbit. It is also supporting international efforts in the fields of interoperability, standardisation and frequency coordination. ESA’s telecommunications programme covers the requirements of different actors in the telecommunications value chain: space segment suppliers, satellite operators, equipment suppliers, ground segment developers and integrators, service providers, application developers, and, last but not least, users. Current ESA telecommunications activities In the fast-moving world of telecommunications, the latest trends are all-important. ESA is keeping European business and industry right at the forefront in the 21st century. ESA’s telecom programme is organised into programme lines, which cover the main strategic areas of the telecom department. In addition to a broad variety of single small projects in the areas of new space and ground equipment, new satellite systems and services, ESA is pursuing the following major activities in the area of satellite telecommunications: Alphabus The new Alphabus platform, which is under development, will be able to accommodate up to 200 transponders, which will allow Europe to compete in the world market of high-power telecommunication satellites. Alphabus will facilitate a wide range of commercial missions from TV Broadcast to multimedia applications, Internet access, mobile or fixed services in the wider range. Alphabus will offer Europe reliable solutions matching world demand for very high-power satellites and will be commercialised jointly by Astrium and Alcatel Alenia Space. The large platform mission (Alphasat programme) is a key element to the successful introduction of the new Alphabus product line on the global commercial markets. It will allow a thorough validation in orbit of the first Alphabus platform. Small Geostationary Satellite initiative The Small Geostationary Satellite initiative is aimed at the development of a general purpose small geostationary satellite platform which will enable European players to compete effectively in the commercial telecom market for small platforms.
HYLAS HYLAS is a hybrid Ka Band/Ku Band satellite with European coverage. The satellite will be used mainly to provide broadband Internet access and to distribute/broadcast HDTV. The launch of HYLAS is currently planned for late 2008 on the Orbital position of 33.5 degrees West with an expected lifetime of 15 years. The Applications The Applications is the part of the telecom programme devoted to promote the development and piloting phase of innovative concepts directly involving the utilisation of satcom by end user communities. Civil Protection Services, telemedicine via satellite, broadband access on trains, and many other areas of daily life are improved by advanced satellite applications developed under ESA contracts.
Working with ESA Telecom There are two ways to work with ESA Telecom. Either by participating in one of the Invitations to Tender (ITT), or by submitting an unsolicited proposal to the ESA industry partnership programme, which is continuously open. Both are issued on different budget lines called ARTES elements. Each budget line is governed by different rules and funding levels. Participation in ESA Telecom is open to all firms residing within the member states participating in the ARTES element concerned. ESA will fully fund (100%) projects in the early stages of innovative technologies development where there is a perceived high commercial and/or technical risk. ESA will partly fund (up to 50%) projects related to the integration and demonstration of activities based on existing technologies that are tailored to pre-operational products, systems and applications with identified market opportunities. Start-up Project Initiative In addition to the ITTs in the different programme lines, ESA Telecom offers an exciting opportunity for start-up projects in order to promote business innovation. This new initiative aims at supporting a number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the early development stages of researching and refining a business proposition. Call for ideas Once a year, The European Space Agency (ESA) is inviting industry and experts from European member states and Canada to come up with ideas and suggestions for future research and development activities in the area of satellite communication. Get in contact Interested in knowing more about ESA or the satellite telecommunications activities of the Agency? The ESA portal website www.esa.int and the ESA Telecom website www.telecom.esa.int provide in-depth information. From Current Invitations to Tender, to free online satcom courses and an extensive documentation, they are your major source of knowledge. Please send us your comments on this article. |
