ESA title

Our Mission

The development of technology – making new things to do new things – is central to ESA's existence. The Agency spends around 8% of its budget on direct research and development, an activity mandated in the ESA Convention. It runs many preparatory programmes to do this, covering various different inventions, each leading activities based on their technical maturity or their field.

  • TDE The Technology Development Element is responsible for early development stages across all service and technology domains, taking cutting-edge ideas and testing their suitability for space applications.
  • GSTP The General Support Technology Programme is an optional programme that takes previously proven innovations through to succeeding stages of engineering, finally evolving fully-tested hardware ready for adoption by future missions.

Our Responsibility

To make sure that the right technology will be available at the right maturity at the right time for future missions

Shaping the Future

Latest

Loft's Longbow satellite
Enabling & Support

GSTP co-funds development for new Loft Orbital satellite pl…

09/09/2025 885 views 3 likes
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NASA's Psyche mission
Enabling & Support

Europe's first deep-space optical communication link

10/07/2025 13379 views 90 likes
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Enabling & Support

50 Years of ESA R&D: An Oral History

16/06/2025 410 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

50 years of innovation: Zero Debris

16/06/2025 216 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

50 Years of Innovative Propulsion in TDE

16/06/2025 446 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

1975 to Today: TDE Antenna Developments

16/06/2025 409 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

ESA’s first stand-alone Deep Space CubeSat signs new phase

06/03/2025 1483 views 9 likes
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Enabling & Support

Read the Annual Report 2023/24 now

12/12/2024 696 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

A new era of accessibility in orbital testing and experimen…

01/12/2025 280 views 3 likes
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Success for Europe's space technology at CM25
Enabling & Support

CM25: A historic step forward for Europe’s space technology…

28/11/2025 1404 views 24 likes
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INVICTUS – Europe’s new hypersonic test platform
Enabling & Support

Two UK sites shortlisted for INVICTUS hypersonic test progr…

24/11/2025 2077 views 14 likes
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Compendia 2026-28 Cover Image
Enabling & Support

GSTP Element 1 ‘Develop’ Compendia 2026-2028: Publication a…

13/10/2025 2219 views 4 likes
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  • Enabling & Support

    Proba-3’s new view on space weather

    03/07/2024 3418 views 32 likes
    Open item
  • Enabling & Support

    GSTP Celebrates 30 Years of Achievements

    29/09/2023 755 views 4 likes
    Open item
  • Enabling & Support

    Show Me Your Wings: Successful In-flight Demonstration of the ADEO Braking Sail

    27/01/2023 4739 views 15 likes
    Open item
    ADEO Artist Impression