TDE & GSTP Success at the ESA Council at Ministerial Level 2022

TDE and GSTP are two technical pillars of ESA, enabling and supporting new technologies for future mission programmes and tackling the challenges they address. Both programmes had a renewed support for its technology development activities at the ESA Council at Ministerial Level 2022. This will enable the implementation of the recently completed TDE work plan 2023-2024 and the GSTP Compendia 2022. All activities are aligned with Agenda 2025 and the updated ESA Technology Strategy.

TDE funded activities supports the entire spectrum of technical disciplines, providing a technical nucleus for the most promising future developments, and assessing their long-term feasibility. A pre-selection of 210 high priority technological activities were included in the TDE workplan, and open to all member states, that covers all of ESA’s application domains - Earth Observation, Science, Exploration, Space Transportation, Telecommunication, Navigation and Space Safety. TDE is included in ESA’s basic, mandatory activity that is subscribed to by all member states.

GSTP supports the development of cutting-edge space technologies that enables missions and supports the competitiveness of European space industry. Despite being an optional programme, GSTP saw a renewed subscription from all participating states choosing to opt-in through its three elements – Develop, Make and Fly. A pre-selection of 143 activities were recently included in the Element 1 “Develop” Compendia 2022.  Industry and their participating states were provided with a consolidated overview of the technical priorities of ESA for the next three years, strategically focusing on generic technologies, artificial intelligence, digitalisation, quantum technologies and cybersecurity

Ministers also welcomed two new GSTP components – EEE Sovereignty and ENDURE – which will support European technology advances, autonomy and secure the supply chain of space components (EEE Sovereignty) and radioisotope energy sources (ENDURE). Gaining European sovereignty over Electrical, Electronic and Eletromechanical (EEE) components will facilitate European competitiveness, provide state-of-the-art technologies and support the space economy. EEE components are the fundamental building blocks of all spacecraft and help define the performance of a spacecraft over its mission lifetime. ENDURE will end Europe’s dependence on foreign nations for radioisotope heat and power systems. Based on Americium-241, ENDURE will open the outer solar system and other challenging planetary environments to European exploration.