No Exchange of Funds - The ESA Barter Agreements for the International Space Station

R. Veldhuyzen & E. Grifoni

In the course of the past three years, ESA has engaged in a series of barter agreements with parties outside the Agency within the framework of the International Space Station (ISS) Programme. These agreements formalise exchanges of goods and/or services between the participating parties without a corresponding financial transaction, i.e. without an exchange of funds. This article discusses the rationale for establishing such arrangements, their main elements and their key benefits.