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
Enabling & Support

Trade-offs for very large space telescope mirrors

04/02/2022 643 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

New testbed integrates GNSS with 4G/5G and Wi-Fi for Smart …

01/02/2022 452 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Developing the technology needed for remote sensing marine …

20/01/2022 374 views 5 likes
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Enabling & Support

New Polishing Techniques for Optical Components

17/01/2022 519 views 4 likes
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Enabling & Support

New User-Friendly System Makes Remote Control of Robots Eve…

12/01/2022 369 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

SpaceCap supercapacitor series solves power problems

06/01/2022 524 views 5 likes
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Enabling & Support

New technology can now pinpoint your location even undergro…

03/01/2022 834 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

TDE Highlights Brochure 2020

17/12/2021 1413 views 30 likes
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Enabling & Support

Smart slit unit for the next generation of high resolution …

26/11/2021 466 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

In-cloud image processing used for civil protection and emp…

19/11/2021 430 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

GSTP Annual Report 2020

17/11/2021 861 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Preparation of enabling space technologies and building blo…

12/11/2021 549 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Artificial Intelligence for high performing inversion models

03/11/2021 763 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Developing ultra-stable lasers and optical clocks for futur…

30/10/2021 355 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Proba-1 Celebrates 20th Birthday In Orbit

22/10/2021 2275 views 57 likes
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Enabling & Support

Thermal Infra-Red camera for Asteroids

17/10/2021 534 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

Improved thermal management capability of power semiconduct…

13/10/2021 210 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

SUPERBLACK COATINGS FOR SPACE COMPONENTS

09/10/2021 754 views 5 likes
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Enabling & Support

New autonomous module could provide insight into mission fa…

20/09/2021 253 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

New lower-cost solar cells qualified for future missions

17/09/2021 426 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

New reaction wheel reduces impact of electromagnetic fields…

14/09/2021 611 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

New facility development underway for ATHENA telescope cali…

10/09/2021 544 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

New mixed-signal converter for multiple mission use

08/09/2021 245 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

De-Risking a High Performance Pulse Tube Cooler

04/09/2021 356 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Miniaturised Terminal for Massive Uncoordinated Satellite A…

30/08/2021 488 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Can Holograms replace optics in space?

20/08/2021 307 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

How ESA is paving its own way to reusable launchers

11/08/2021 1601 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Is water the best new propellant for future space missions?

30/06/2021 3078 views 13 likes
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Enabling & Support

Coiled solar array, SWIRL, reaches next development stage

24/06/2021 343 views 2 likes
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Checking circuits
Enabling & Support

Can Integrated Avionics from Aviation Industry be Applied t…

22/06/2021 1138 views 3 likes
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UK National Space Propulsion Test Facility
Enabling & Support

GSTP funds new UK Facility as part of Innovative Propulsion…

18/06/2021 1737 views 5 likes
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Enabling & Support

Understanding how particles emitted during launch affect th…

14/06/2021 463 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

More radiation-resistant active pixel sensors for vision-ba…

14/06/2021 536 views 1 likes
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New Norcia station
Enabling & Support

New X-Band sampling technology paves way for ground station…

07/06/2021 283 views 0 likes
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Virtual Training Editor user interface
Enabling & Support

New definition for on-board software models help improve in…

03/06/2021 360 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Introducing the MILIARIUM- a measuring technique for satel…

02/06/2021 308 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Model predicts acoustic noise to reduce payload penalties

31/05/2021 612 views 0 likes
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New Norcia station
Enabling & Support

New X-Band sampling technology paves way for ground station…

30/05/2021 213 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

More radiation-resistant active pixel sensors for vision-ba…

29/05/2021 330 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Prototype passive electron emitter could alleviate electros…

28/05/2021 263 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Thermal Imaging Made more Reliable for Spacecraft Tests

21/05/2021 464 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Solid state joining of metallic and non-metallic materials

07/05/2021 343 views 1 likes
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Preventing critical damage in high-powered lasers

04/05/2021 209 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Improving Thermo-Elastic Predictions

04/05/2021 508 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

New COTS GNSS for CubeSats

30/04/2021 1233 views 3 likes
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Enabling & Support

Most compact, low power, high control reaction wheel yet

15/04/2021 773 views 1 likes
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Electrical lines in CubeSat body
Enabling & Support

New platform to help payloads get in orbit verification

13/04/2021 1157 views 3 likes
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MultiFEEP three units (3U)
Enabling & Support

How much autonomy can we give satellites?

09/04/2021 935 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

Embedded thermal functions in structural parts using 3D pri…

08/04/2021 485 views 0 likes
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Mesh reflector for shaped radio beams
Enabling & Support

Adaptive thin-shelled reflectors for future space telescopes

06/04/2021 818 views 2 likes
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