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

Testing unusually-shaped parachutes

21/12/2018 718 views 5 likes
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Enabling & Support

Under Pressure – New Materials Need New Tests

17/12/2018 451 views 1 likes
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From geckos to space: Inspiration for new docking mechanism…

13/12/2018 1091 views 3 likes
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Miniature Swiss clock to make telling time in space easier

12/12/2018 579 views 1 likes
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Climate: Earth and beyond

10/12/2018 447 views 1 likes
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GSTP 25
Enabling & Support

GSTP celebrates 25 years of time and space

22/10/2018 1140 views 8 likes
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Enabling & Support

A word from the Director - GSTP turns 25

12/10/2018 387 views 2 likes
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In-Orbit Manufacturing of Very Long Booms

31/07/2018 1805 views 4 likes
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Processor for mobile payloads
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On-Board Processor for Dual Polarization Mobile Payloads

02/07/2018 692 views 0 likes
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Wafer of the developed SiC JBS diode
Enabling & Support

Prototyping and Characterization of 1200 V SiC Schottky Dio…

26/06/2018 1392 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

Planet and Asteroid Natural Scene Generation Utility (PANGU…

20/04/2018 3043 views 16 likes
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Enabling & Support

Image Recognition and Processing for Navigation (IRPN)

18/04/2018 1655 views 3 likes
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Germanium wafers before and after cell manufacturing for different applications
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Pegasus II – Performance Guaranteed Substrates for 6” Wafers

23/03/2018 691 views 0 likes
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ADVISE - Assessed Techniques for Satellite Navigation
Enabling & Support

Advanced Signal-In-Space Techniques (ADVISE)

21/03/2018 721 views 1 likes
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Global Monitoring System Brief Telemetry Monitoring Screen
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Global Monitoring and Management System

01/03/2018 2743 views 4 likes
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Enabling & Support

Modular Multi-Functional Structural Panels

25/02/2018 495 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

GPS/Galileo Miniaturised Multi-Frequency Space Receiver Eng…

23/02/2018 1258 views 4 likes
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Enabling & Support

High-Voltage High-Power Solar Array For Exploration Missions

23/02/2018 1696 views 8 likes
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Self-Compensating Hall Effect Current Sensors

19/02/2018 2982 views 8 likes
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Enabling & Support

12 meter Class Segmented Optical Communications Antenna

13/02/2018 780 views 3 likes
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Enabling & Support

Ka Band 100W Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA)

08/02/2018 5973 views 16 likes
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Sloshing of LN2: high-speed acquired picture of the free surface position
Enabling & Support

Prediction Methods For Propellant Management Devices

26/01/2018 801 views 2 likes
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Enabling & Support

High Speed Infrared Imaging System

16/01/2018 689 views 3 likes
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SABIP Payload consisting of antenna and receiver (courtesy of TAS-D)
Enabling & Support

Space-based ADS-B Payload Development for Air Traffic Surve…

11/01/2018 2922 views 14 likes
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Enabling & Support

New Generation Short Wave Infra-Red (SWIR) Immersed Grating…

10/01/2018 1576 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Single GaN chip HPA/LNA for Radar Applications

17/08/2017 3953 views 10 likes
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Enabling & Support

High Specific Energy Lithium Sulfur cell for Space applicat…

08/08/2017 2697 views 6 likes
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Enabling & Support

Optical Reference Cavities for Space Deployment (ORCS)

28/07/2017 1572 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

European Schottky Technology - Phase 1B

27/07/2017 569 views 4 likes
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Enabling & Support

Semantic Modelling and Semantic Interoperability - FAMOUS-2

25/07/2017 2025 views 3 likes
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Enabling & Support

Automatic behavior detection and interpretation from low le…

25/07/2017 732 views 1 likes
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Multi-Disciplinary Assessment of Design for DEMISE Techniqu…

25/07/2017 981 views 0 likes
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Interoperability for Space Environment Analysis Tools

25/07/2017 687 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

ASTOS Market-Oriented Activities

25/07/2017 1944 views 2 likes
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Flow-Structure coupling for hypersonic flows Regime – Part 3

25/07/2017 549 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Enhancement of VKI Plasmatron Operational Capabilities

25/07/2017 2004 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

RADID – Rapid Assessment of Design Impact on Debris Generat…

25/07/2017 1577 views 1 likes
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Satellite Vulnerability Test Bed (SVTB)

25/07/2017 1051 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

High Density European Rad-Hard SRAM-Based FPGA- First Valid…

24/07/2017 14010 views 37 likes
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Enabling & Support

Characterisation of Metallic Materials

20/07/2017 736 views 0 likes
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Small Scale Cooler

20/07/2017 1895 views 1 likes
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Impact of thermo-mechanical loading history on mechanical p…

20/07/2017 935 views 5 likes
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Demonstrator of Carbon anisogrid payload adapter

20/07/2017 2162 views 11 likes
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Zero-Boil Off Propulsion System Feasibility Demonstration

20/07/2017 5378 views 13 likes
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Competence Domain 8: Ground Data Systems / Mission Operatio…

18/07/2017 1357 views 0 likes
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Competence Domain 6: Life / Physical Science Payloads / Lif…

18/07/2017 827 views 0 likes
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Study on the Technology Demonstration Platform Availability…

18/07/2017 683 views 0 likes
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Enabling & Support

Software Tool Predicting the Distance Measurement Equipment…

18/07/2017 1297 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Development of a low thrust bipropellant thruster based on …

18/07/2017 3015 views 5 likes
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Enabling & Support

Identification of structural components damping characteris…

18/07/2017 1338 views 1 likes
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