News
Stay up to date with all the incredible activities and opportunities driven by the TEC directorate
GSTP Industry Working Days in Vienna a Success
Over the past three days GSTP has co-hosted with FFG, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, the first in-person GSTP Industry Working Days in nearly 3 years.
The Industry Days were intended to highlight potential technology developments needed in three areas: artificial intelligence, digitalization and quantum. Across all three days this saw bilaterals taking place between industry and ESA as well as intense but informative panels and workshops focusing on each topic individually.
Day one saw a rebranded version of the Space Engineering and Technology Final Presentation Days, normally held at ESTEC. Now known as the Space R&D Showcase, almost 40 presentations were delivered about recently closed GSTP and TDE activities with important technology developments to share. Grouped into 6 catagories, from digital twins to AI on the edge, the presentations were given by a huge range of industry and universities.
Feedback during all three days was gathered using an interactive tool, which meant questions were readily available and the audience could leave their feedback about the compendium throughout the event. In an example of true conversation with industry, over 80 replies were received to the interactive compendia quiz online. This will now allow the TEC-T team to see which activities need more focus, if there are any skill areas missing and if there may be a better way to structure the document to avoid gaps in the future, before it is finalised. Making sure that future GSTP activities in these areas are tailored to industry’s requests and concerns.
Latest TDE Highlights Brochure Now Published!
Going GaN: Novel Chips Powering Space Missions
Some of ESA’s most ambitious future missions for telecommunications and Earth observation have only become possible because of a switch to a novel high-power and high-temperature capable semiconductor – sometimes termed the most promising material since silicon. ESA laboratory testing has confirmed the performance of key European-made Gallium Nitride components.
Plato’s Cave: Vacuum Test for Exoplanet Detection
A test version of the payload module of ESA's exoplanet-detecting Plato spacecraft underwent a prolonged vacuum soak within Europe’s largest thermal vacuum chamber, to evaluate its endurance of space conditions.
