Harmonisation
Technology Harmonisation provides all European actors with the framework and the key instruments needed to coordinate space technology at the European level.
This is achieved by identifying the needs and existing capabilities within Europe – as documented in Technology Harmonisation Dossiers – and by agreeing on ‘European Space Technology Roadmaps’, through a process of concertation, coordination and agreement between all participants. These joint Roadmaps aim at optimising public funding and guiding developments to ensure the right technology is at the right level of maturity at the right time.
The process has been developed to achieve better-coordinated research and development activities among actors in the European space sector, establishing a strong technology base as a means of underpinning the worldwide competitiveness of European industry and ensuring the success of future space missions.
Through nearly two decades of operation, and several major reviews that recommended its strengthening, Technology Harmonisation is now an established and well-proven European process. It involves over 1,000 European takeholders, including ESA, national agencies and organisations, the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, and Space Entities (industry, R&D organisations, academia and associations).
In the scope of Harmonisation, space technologies are currently grouped into 47 topics, covering a wide range of subjects, from electric propulsion and de-orbiting technologies, to optical communications and microelectronics. Topics are continuously evolving to recognise the dynamic nature of the space sector and emerging technology trends.
MAIN OBJECTIVES
"Fill strategic gaps" and "Minimise unnecessary duplications"
Consolidate European Strategic Capabilities
Achieve a Coordinated and Commited European Space technology Policy and Planning
Contribute to continuity and coherence between technology and industrial Policies
HOW IT WORKS
Through the Technology Coordination and Planning Office, ESA supervises and coordinates all phases of the Harmonisation process (Mapping and Roadmapping). Every year, up to 10 topics undergo Harmonisation. Therefore, topics are normally addressed and upated every about 4 years.
ESA technical experts are designated to provide the needed technical knowledge and to prepare the documentation: the Technology Harmonisation Dossiers (THD) and the Roadmaps. The final documents are available to all stakeholders via our Harmonisation Document Management System (HDMS: ht tps://tec-polaris.esa.int --> eclipse). If you do not have an account, you can request access by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
- Internal coordination across ESA is achieved for technical, strategic and programmatic areas: the active participation of the Competence Domain Leads (CDL) ensures quality, coherence, relevance and consistency of the technical content, while the involvement of the TECNET Chairs Forum and Programme Managers ensures programmatic aspects are taken into account.
- External coordination with the European and Canadian space community is achieved via open consultation rounds four times per year. Note that topics are split into two cycles of up to 5 topics each (see below the topics and key dates for the ongoing cycles), and therefore two Mapping Consultations and two Roadmapping Consultations are held every year.
+Harmonisation is an inclusive process involving over 1,000 European and Canadian stakeholders, including ESA, national agencies and organisations, the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, and Space Entities (industry, R&D organisations, academia and associations).
ESA Technology Harmonisation Advisory Group - THAG
THAG is an ESA delegate body, established in 2006 to advise the ESA Industrial Policy Committee (IPC) on Technology Harmonisation matters, including:
- Technology harmonisation work plans
- Mapping of European capabilities with respect to the needs of the institutional and commercial markets
- Implementation within ESA programmes of agreed roadmaps and conclusions, and identification of national-and European-level funding
- Harmonisation measures to be applied in istitutional programmes and by industry
How to participate
The European Space Technology Harmonisation is a voluntary process, based on transparency and exchange of information. Continuous support from all participants is crucial to the success of this European initiative.
In case of interest in any of the topics addressed by the European Space Technology Harmonisation, the recommended approach is to seek involvement either through your national delegation (in the case of ESA Member and Associate States) or directly through ESA (harmo@esa.int). You will find the contact details of your national delegation in the European Space Technology Master Plan; the delegate may then recommend how to further proceed.
All European space sector stakeholders can access the Harmonisation Documents as well as the European Space Technology Master Plan via the Harmonisation Document Management System (HDMS: https://tec-polaris.esa.int --> eclipse). You may request an account to HDMS by sending an e-mail to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
Ongoing Harmonisation Cycles - topics and key dates
2024 Topics
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
Cryogenics and Focal Plane Cooling
Composite Materials
AOCS and GNC Systems
Model Based for System Engineering
Electrochemical Energy Storage
Electromagnetic Compatibility
Technologies for Passive Millimetre and Sub-Millimetre Wave Instruments
Technologies for Fluid Mechanics
Technologies for Optical Passive Instruments – Stable & Lightweight Structures, Mirrors
Cubesat Propulsion
2024 Meeting Dates
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
November-December 2023
Space Entities Mapping Consultation
February-March 2024
Space Entities Mapping Consultation
16-18 January 2024
Mapping Meeting
9-11 April 2024
Mapping Meeting
March-April 2024
Space Entities Roadmap Consultation
July-September 2024
Space Entities Roadmap Consultation
17-18 June 2024
Roadmap Meeting
27-28 November 2024
Roadmap Meeting
Harmonisation topics
Solar Array Drive Mechanisms
Last harmonised in 2020. Candidate for revisit in 2025.
Technologies included in this topic are those listed below.
- Motor: driving line or rotary actuator
- Stepper motors and brushless DC motors (see Actuator Building Blocks for Mechanisms)
- Bearings
- Lubrication
- Electrical transfer unit
- Flex harness, twist capsule, cable wrap technologies (limited rotation angle range)
- Slip ring technologies (not limited rotation angle range)
- Cylindrical or pancake/disk geometry for the slip rings
- Single-wire, braided-wire, flexible blades carrying contact blocks as brush geometries (integral electrical interfaces or “flying lead” for customer interfacing)
- V-grooved or flat tracks
- Brush-track material pairs
- Roll rings
- Contactless power and data transfer units
- Angular position and reference sensors (see the Harmonisation topic “Actuator Building Blocks for Mechanisms”)
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK / Roadmap LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
Solar Generators and Solar Cells
Last harmonised in 2021. Candidate for revisit in 2025.
This topic covers the solar generator subsystem, which can be split into 4 design categories and an environmental testing category.
- Solar cells (with and without integral protection diode).
- Solar cell assemblies: solar cells with interconnectors and cover-glass, and discrete solar cell protection diode (when cell integrated diodes are not the preferred choice).
- Photovoltaic assembly: including mainly solar cell string, diodes, resistors, thermistors, harness, connectors and optical surface reflectors representing the integrated electrical part of the solar generator.
- Solar array assembly, enveloping the photovoltaic assembly, structural and mechanical parts of the generator.
- Environmental interaction of the solar generator with other subsystems, such as effects from radiation, atomic oxygen, thruster plume (chemical and electrical) and electrostatic discharge.Most artificial satellites, with a few exceptions, rely on the power generated by photovoltaic solar generators. This topic covers the solar generator subsystem, which can be split into 4 design categories and an environmental testing category.
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK / Roadmap LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
System Modelling & Simulation Tools
Last Harmonised in 2023.
This topic is considered a subset of the System Design and Verification domain, which includes technology, methods, and tools to support the System Engineering processes (specification, design, and verification) of space systems during the complete lifecycle of space missions (phases 0 to F). In particular it covers the items below.
- Space system lifecycle and system-level simulation facilities
- System concept simulator
- Mission performance simulator
- Functional engineering simulator
- Software validation facility
- Functional verification bench
- Assembly, integration and verification simulator
- Ground system test simulator
- Training, operations and maintenance simulator (TOMS).
- Digital twin spacecraft
- System-level modelling and simulation tasks
- Modelling phase (A)
- Software development phase
- Configuration setup phase (B)
- Configuration package setup phase (C)
- Simulation execution phase (D)
- Data processing and archiving phase (E)
- Database and repository function
Virtual system model, reference architecture and standards
- Simulation models and modelling methods: e.g. system dynamics, non-casual, discrete event, agent based, finite state machine, fact based/objects role modelling)
- Tooling
- Virtual reality, augmented reality, and extended reality technologies
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK / Roadmap LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
Technologies for Hold Down, Release, Separation and Deployment Mechanisms
Last harmonised in 2021.
Most spacecraft have appendages (e.g. solar arrays, antenna reflectors, sensors, booms) that are stowed during launch and released once in orbit. To secure and enable these appendages, two types of mechanisms may be used: Hold-Down and Release Mechanism (HDRM) and the Deployment Mechanism (DM). This topic addresses building blocks of such mechanisms:
Hold Down and Release Mechanisms:
- Clamp bands and dispensers
- Non-explosive release actuators
- Magnetic clamp
- Pin puller / pusher
- Shape Memory Alloy
- Fusible wire / split spool
- Thermal cutter
- Bi-metallic actuator
Deployment Mechanisms:
- Dampers (viscous, melting alloy, Eddy current, magneto-rheological fluid)
- Shape Memory Alloy
- Escapement mechanism speed regulator
- Tape spring
- Magnetic bearing
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK / Roadmap LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
Technologies for Optical Passive Instruments – Stable and Lightweight Structures, and Mirrors
Currently in Harmonisation. Publication expected late 2024.
Mirrors are a small subset of passive optical components, but essential for the success of many space missions. They are involved in every new design or development of space instrumentation. Highly stable and lightweight structures are complimentary to the production of optical and scientific instruments for space missions. Such structures are needed to provide stable support to the components an optical system (e.g. mirrors, lenses, filters, prisms), detector assemblies (e.g. focal plane arrays, photodetectors) and supporting hardware and structures (e.g. mounts, optical benches and telescope structures). This topic covers the areas listed below.
- Deployable mirrors
- Deformable mirrors
- New mirror materials (e.g. ceramics, carbon nanotubes)
- Mirror steering mechanisms
- Metrology and verification methods
- Improvements in ultra-low CTE materials for ultra stable structures (e.g. Zerodur, SiN)
- Improvements in the characterisation of currently qualified materials (e.g. CTE characterisation of structural and optical materials at cryogenic temperatures)
- New manufacturing technologies (e.g. additive manufacturing of ceramics, joining of dissimilar materials or metals with dissimilar CTE like friction welding of Ti and Al)
- Improvements in the characterisation of thermos-elastic stability of additively manufactured structures such as optical benches, and improvements to facilities for verification of stable structures at cryogenic temperatures
Note that from Harmonisation 2024 this topic will combine the two former topics Technologies for Optical Passive Instruments – Stable and Lightweight Structures, and Technologies for Optical Passive Instruments – Mirrors.
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD (mirrors) LINK / THD (structures) LINK, Roadmap (mirrors) LINK / Roadmap (structures) LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
Technologies for Passive Millimetre and Submilimetre Wave Instruments
Currently in Harmonisation. Publication expected late 2024.
This topic deals with technologies needed for constructing passive instruments operating in a wide frequency range, extending from millimetre waves (30 – 300 GHz) to sub-millimetre waves (300 – 3000 GHz). In particular it covers all building blocks and the corresponding infrastructure needed to design, manufacture, test, evaluate and space qualify submillimetre wave instruments.
- Antenna reflector and reflector technology
- Antenna, receiver and subsystem measurements
- Mechanisms
- Relay optics, frequency selective structures, calibration loads and feeds
- Receivers, including mixers, LO and amplifiers
- Semiconductor devices and device technologies
- Spectrometers
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK / Roadmap LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
TT&C Transponders and Payload Data Transmitters
Last harmonised in 2020. Candidate for revisit in 2025.
This topic covers the areas listed below.
- TT&C transponders for Near-Earth (NE) applications operating in S- (2 GHz) or X- (8 GHz) bands and using either standard phase modulation or spread spectrum technology. NE missions requiring higher data rates are increasingly using K-band (26 GHz) frequency band.
- TT&C transmitters, receivers and beacons (with in-orbit frequency selection) for telecommunication satellites
- Operating in C-, Ku- or Ka-band (in Earth Orbit GSO / NGSO), and Payload Control and Configuration transceivers. This covers both conventional (Frequency Modulation / Phase Modulation) and spread-spectrum approaches.
- Operating in X-, Ka- and EHF- (military) bands, using spread spectrum technology.
- TT&C transponders for Deep Space (DS) missions operating in the X- (8 GHz) and Ka- (32 GHz) bands.
- TT&C transponders for CubeSats and nanosats using S-, X- and K-band, and, more recently, lower bands like VHF (between 30MHz to 300MHz) and UHF (between 300MHz and 3GHz).
- Payload Data Transmitters dedicated to the transmission of science payload data.
- Other related areas
- Space-to-Space, Intersatellite or proximity TT&C links: Proximity transceivers (lander and orbiter) in S- and K- Bands in (cis)Lunar orbit and in UHF in DS planetary scenarios, Intersatellite link transceivers in S-Band, K- (NE) or Ka- Bands (DS)
- Launcher telemetry system
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK / Roadmap LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by sending an email to harmo@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
The European Space Technology Master Plan
The ESTMP sets out a European vision of technology for the coming years to support decisions of European stakeholders on space technology R&D.
The European Space Technology Master Plan (ESTMP), updated annually by ESA with all stakeholders, constitutes a comprehensive overview of technology R&D across Europe. In particular, it includes:
- A snapshot of the space sector in the global context;
- European institutional space technology R&D budgets;
- An overview of the ESA technology R&D programmes updated to include new programmes stemming from the last Council at Ministerial;
- An overview of technology programmes and initiatives by the European Commission and the European Defence Agency, including the Critical Space Technologies for Non-Dependence, jointly with ESA;
- A presentation of ESA participating states, including organisation of national space technology R&D;
- A list and description of the European Space Technology Harmonisation topics including Roadmap aims.
The most recent edition is the ESTMP 2023. For access to the publication contact us at estmp@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.