CM25 – Boost European competitiveness and growth
The ingredients for great space missions are built up over time. Great ideas need to be followed up carefully with specific mission requirements. Technology may need to be devised to meet those requirements, and every aspect of the mission must be rigorously tested and validated.
ESA never works in isolation through this process. Missions are developed with the communities they serve, and built within our European space ecosystem. The next step for Europe is to make this ecosystem even more efficient and more prominent on the world stage.
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Building a space mission
The space industry covers a huge range of activity – from fundamental physics through materials development and testing through to data use and marketing to the consumer. Because it needs cutting-edge technologies, ESA is helping to drive innovation in key areas and create high-quality jobs. Technology for future missions needs to be developed and proven before anything can fly in space. Research and Development (R&D) moves great ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace and ESA programmes are helping to reduce the time it takes to get to market and find customers.
Through programmes such as the General Support Technology Programme and elements of ESA’s Basic Activities, the agency incentivises innovation and technological improvements. New innovations are brought through what are known as technology readiness levels – or TRLs – that bring the idea from an initial concept through demonstrations and functioning models to the goal of operating in its intended environment. Current areas of opportunity include green propulsion, advanced space architecture and compact high-performance satellites.
Over the past four years, ESA has simplified the processes for companies to do business with the agency, has worked to support young companies, and has introduced new investors to the space domain. But more investment in space is still needed – both from the public and private sectors.
The future of space business
In telecommunications, areas ready for growth and exploitation includes direct to device internet, optical and quantum communications, and advanced cybersecurity. The ARTES 4.0 programme supports companies working in these high-tech areas and helps them through the development process up to and including industrialisation.
While ESA creates the requirements for its missions, it encourages the space industry to lead in design and implementation in developing new technologies. In the area of Earth observation, InCubed is a programme that offers co-funding for innovative projects to help companies establish themselves in the global commercial marketplace. The ACCESS programme combines the power of networking through ESA with fundamental support such as zero-equity funding and technological support to ensure that the benefits of space can be brought to the economy and to society as a whole.
ESA is also developing an eco-design roadmap to ensure the sustainability of our missions into the future – while also leading on zero debris.
ESA is working with the Member States to ensure that Europe takes a place in the global space economy commensurate with its talent, its research capacity and its technical facilities.