OPEN SOURCE MAKERSPACE FOR END-TO-END SATELLITE SYSTEM SIMULATORS (ARTES AT 3A.114) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)

Description

The objective of the activity is to establish an agile framework to develop a number of open source building blocks for satellite system simulators. The developments will be made available to the satcom community in ARTES Member States.

Targeted Improvements: Enabling open source building blocks and engineering tools for satcom systems simulation.

Description:

The open source paradigm has deeply changed the technology development approach. It has proved to be a force multiplier that builds communities around shared challenges and exposes the problem space to larger audiences granting access to a pool of talent and manpower beyond the capabilities and resources of any single entity. Besides, larger communities produce more use cases that test the developments, yieldingmore robust solutions. Moreover, the open and shared development effort fosters the marketplace of ideas, which is key to innovation. Finally, open source reduces the duplication of effort allowing each individual or entity to focus on their core competencies andaddvalue. This allows the community to move forward and work on new challenges.

This activity aims therefore at promoting the adoption of open source by the satcom community. To do so, the activity will initiate multiple open source development activities focusing on satcom system simulators and engineering tools. Within this activity, it is proposed to conduct as a minimum 10 small development activities with minimal administrative burden. The prime contractor will be responsible of managing separate individual development contracts. The prime contractor will coordinate and manage the activities of the group and will oversee the developments.

The initial development targets will be defined by ESA and requested as part of the Statement of Work. Preliminary proposals are the extension of existing open source satcom simulators and emulators including RF and optical building blocks, open source implementation oftesting means for smallsats and the open source implementation of the key satcom related standards (e.g. ITU, ETSI, 3GPP). The subsequent prototyping activities will be defined by ESA, in consultation with the prime contractor during the course of the activity. This will allow starting open source developments in line with the interest of the satcom community.

Procurement Policy: C2: Activities are in open competition, where a significant participation of non-LSIs is requested. For additional information please go to EMITS news "Industrial Policy measures for non-primes, SMEs and RD entities in ESA programmes".

Footnote: On Delegation Request activities will only be initiated on the explicit request of at least one National Delegation.

Tender Specifics