ESA BIC satsearch: a marketplace for the global space supply chain

It is the first marketplace for space and provides an open, global, up-to-date database of space products and services through the company developed search engine.

The mission is to digitalize the global space supply chain, leading to better designs, shorter lead times, and ultimately more cost-effective and robust space systems.

Space engineers face a myriad of questions about the global market during the design process.

The global space supply chain is becoming increasingly fragmented, hence they face a slew of time-consuming challenges, including product search, data export and harmonization, design trade-offs and risk assessment.

Finding the right products currently costs thousands of man-hours because there is no easy way to search for them, fragmented supplier landscape and difficult access to supply chain information.

”We have developed a unique approach to collect, curate and structure unstructured supply chain data,” says satsearch Co-founder and CEO Kartik Kumar.

“We are actively developing a tool-chain for creation, maintenance, and use of electronic data sheets, which allows us to natively embed supply chain data across the space mission life cycle.”

“Complex space missions necessitate the use of intelligent design tools. Our tool-chain makes Data-Driven Design (D3) a reality, enabling rapid feasibility assessment, concept validation and robust design,” adds Kartik.

“Integrated Mission Design is our proprietary D3 approach that embeds supply chain data in the engineering and procurement process through deep software integration.”

In May 2018, satsearch was accepted into the ESA BIC Noordwijk incubation program, offered through SBIC Noordwijk, in the Netherlands. This marks an important milestone for the company as the ESA BIC offers the ideal platform to propel the company forward towards full-scale supply chain digitalization.

Already on five continents

The satsearch system covers already over 650 suppliers globally, with products from companies in 31 countries.

In February, ANTRIX Corporation Limited, a wholly-owned Government of India Company, joined by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with satsearch to showcase specific products and services offered by the Indian space sector. 

ANTRIX aims to tap into global reach offered through the satsearch platform and to highlight the core technologies mastered by the Indian space supply chain.

At the Toulouse Space Show 2018 the French Space Agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) signed the Memorandum of Understanding with satsearch to digitalize space engineering.

This marked another key stepping-stone towards the goal of building a rich ecosystem of partners to support satsearch efforts to spearhead digitalization of the global space supply chain.

Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions at IAC 2018

ESA's Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Office (TTPO) with its ESA space solutions network presents 24 start-ups from Europe, Canada, Japan and Russia, 14 fostered at one of the ESA Business Incubation Centres – the ESA BICs, at the 69th International Astronautical Conference (IAC 2018) in Bremen, 1-5 October 2018.

The Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions provides a look into great examples of aerospace technology systems and services developed by start-ups with visionary goals.

At pitching sessions on 2/10 and 4/10, the start-ups will present their business ideas and the Head of ESA TTPO Frank M. Salzgeber will present the potential of re-using already existing space technologies and ESA's Intellectual Properties as well as Europe's Earth observation and navigation services by start-ups and how their solutions can improve our lives here on Earth.

World's largest ecosystem for space-related entrepreneurship

ESA’s Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Programme Office (TTPO) operates the ‘ESA space solutions’ network of Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) and Technology Transfer Brokers offering complete access to all aspects of space-related innovation, technology and intellectual properties and is a gateway to ESA and European space research and developments.

Today, there are 20 ESA BICs in 17 European countries – Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and UK – forming the largest ecosystem in the world for space-related entrepreneurship.

Over 650 start-ups have been fostered and another 150 new start-ups are taken in yearly at ESA BICs to be supported under the two-years business development boosting programme.

Visit “Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions”

Meet all the start-ups from 1 October until 5 October at the dedicated Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions area at IAC 2018.

The satsearch entrepreneurs will be at the Start-ups Zone at IAC 2018 from 1 October until 3 October noon, and be pitching their business 2 October.