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 stakeholders, 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 48 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 Committed European Space technology Policy and Planning
Contribute to continuity and coherence between technology and industrial Policies
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 institutional programmes and by industry
HOW IT WORKS
ESA's Technology Coordination and Planning Office, supervises and coordinates all phases of the Harmonisation process to ensure European space technologies are aligned and strategically developed. Here's how the process works:
- Annual Topics: each year, up to 10 topics are selected for the Harmonisation. These topics are selected based on the last year of revisit, strategic needs and stakeholder input. They are reviewed and updated approximately every 4-5 years.
- Preparation of Dossier: ESA technical experts prepare Technology Harmonisation Dossiers (THDs) for each topic. These documents include strategic objectives, current capabilities and gaps, as well as future technology needs. They are shared with stakeholders via the Harmonisation Document Management System (HDMS)
- Internal coordination: ESA ensures alignement across technical, strategic and programmatic areas. This guarantees that roadmaps are consistent with ESA's long-term plans and mission requirements.
- External Coordination: the European and Canadian space community participates through open consultation rounds, held two times per year allowing stakeholders to review and comment on draft technology harmonisation dossiers including strategic roadmaps.
This process ensures coherence in technology development across Europe, efficient use of resources by avoiding duplication, timely availability of technologies for future missions.
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.
European and Canadian Space Entities are invited to join Harmonisation including:
- Industry
- R&D Organisations and Academia
- Associations
Whether actively participating or not, the results are available to all stakeholders.
Space Entities may submit their inputs on the different technologies addressed during the consultation rounds through one of the channel listed below.
DIRECT PARTICIPATION
on ESA STAR Update your:
- Technology profile
- Entity capability responsible
You will be invited to participate to the consultation and harmonisation meeting when the topic corresponds to your entity capability areas of expertise
PARTICIPATION THROUGH THE NATIONAL DELEGATE
REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH YOUR NATIONAL DELEGATE
The THAG Delegate may recommend how to proceed further.
If you need the contact details of your THAG Delegate, please contact us
Access to Harmonisation Documentation
As an entity based in Europe or Canada, you can request access to the harmonisation database on the Eclipse Polaris platform.
Harmonisation Process phases
Ongoing Harmonisation Cycles - topics and key dates
2027 Topics
Cycle 1 - Initialized
Cycle 2 - Foreseen
Array Antennas and Periodic Structures
Automation and Robotics
Electric Propulsion Technologies
Big Data from Space
Lidar Critical Subsystems
Inflatable Structures
Photonics
Microwave Passive Hardware
Optical Detectors
Optical Communications for Space
2027 Dates
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
21 Oct 2026
10 February 2027
Cycle Kick off Meeting
Nov 2026
Mar 2027
Space Entities Consultation Start
23-25 Feb 2027
25-27 May 2027
Harmonisation Meeting
Jul 2027
Dec 2027
Dossiers Publication
2026 TOPICS
Cycle 1 - Published
Cycle 2 - Review and Validation (Publication Dec 2026)
Actuators Building Blocks for Mechanisms
Ground Station technology
Pyrotechnic Devices (within release mechanisms)
On-Board Computers, Data Handling Systems and Microelectronics
Printed Circuit Boards and Electronic Assembly Technologies
Avionic Embedded Systems
Additive Manufacturing
On-Board Software
Micro and Nano Technologies - MEMS Pressures Sensors, MOEMS and RF-MEMS
Radiation Environment and Effects
Harmonisation topics
Reflector Antennas
Last harmonised in 2023.
Reflector antennas are by far the most used type of antennas for space and often remain the best solution for applications with a single high gain beam or with multiple beams over a narrow field of view. Reflector antennas provide gain from a simple reflecting surface and can operate at multiple frequencies with single or multiple beams and they can also be shaped to provide one or more contoured beams.
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 Array Drive Mechanisms
Currently in Harmonisation. Publication expected in Q4 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 2025.
Solar generators are the primary source of electrical power for most spacecraft, converting solar energy into electricity to support all onboard systems throughout the mission. This Harmonisation Topic covers the technologies, assemblies and environmental considerations associated with the design, manufacture and qualification of space photovoltaic power generation systems.
The scope includes:
Solar Cells
- Solar cells with and without integrated protection diodes
Solar Cell Assemblies
- Solar cells, interconnectors and cover-glasses
- Discrete protection diodes where required
Photovoltaic Assemblies
- Solar cell strings
- Diodes, resistors and thermistors
- Harnesses and connectors
- Optical surface reflectors
Solar Array Assemblies
- Structural and mechanical elements of solar generators
- Integration of photovoltaic and mechanical subsystems
Environmental Interaction and Qualification
- Radiation effects
- Atomic oxygen effects
- Chemical and electrical effects from thruster plumes
- Electrostatic discharge (ESD) and related phenomena
The dossier identifies technology challenges, development priorities and harmonised roadmaps to strengthen European capabilities in photovoltaic power generation, improve performance and reliability, and support future space missions with increasingly demanding power requirements.
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier (THD) and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by filling this Registration Form with 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
Last Harmonised in 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 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 Passive Millimetre and Submilimetre Wave Instruments
Last Harmonised in 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 2025.
TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking and Command) transponders and payload data transmitters are essential elements of spacecraft communication systems, enabling command uplinks, telemetry downlinks, tracking functions and the transmission of mission and payload data. This Harmonisation Topic covers communication equipment for near-Earth, deep-space, telecommunications, launcher and small satellite applications across a wide range of frequency bands.
The scope includes:
Near-Earth TT&C Systems
- TT&C transponders operating in S-, X- and K-bands
- Conventional phase-modulation and spread-spectrum technologies
Telecommunications Satellite TT&C
- TT&C transmitters, receivers and beacons
- Payload control and configuration transceivers
- C-, Ku- and Ka-band systems for GSO and NGSO missions
Military and Secure Communications
- X-, Ka- and EHF-band TT&C systems
- Spread-spectrum communication technologies
Deep Space TT&C
- X-band and Ka-band transponders for deep-space missions
CubeSat and Small Satellite Communications
- TT&C systems operating in VHF, UHF, S-, X- and K-bands
Payload Data Transmission
- Dedicated payload data transmitters for science and mission data delivery
Space-to-Space Communications
- Proximity communication transceivers for lander-orbiter missions
- Intersatellite link transceivers for Near-Earth, lunar and deep-space applications
Launcher Telemetry Systems
- Telemetry transmission technologies for launch vehicles
The dossier identifies technology challenges, development priorities and harmonised roadmaps aimed at improving performance, security, interoperability and European competitiveness in space communication systems for future missions.
The Technology Harmonisation Dossier and Roadmap can be accessed via our Harmonisation Document Management System under the following links: THD LINK
If you do not have an account yet, you may request one by filling this Registration Form with a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.
The European Space Technology Master Plan
The European Space Technology Master Plan (ESTMP) 2025 provides a comprehensive overview of Europe’s strategic approach to space technology development. Published for the ESA Ministerial Council 2025, this edition CM25 marks both the 50th anniversary of ESA and 25 years of the European Space Technology Harmonisation process.
The CM25 ESTMP Edition gives an overview on:
- Space Technology R&D budgets in Europe in 2024
- The structure and objectives of the new Harmonisation process, involving ESA, national agencies, industry, academia, and associations
- ESA Technology Programme landscape
- The drive for European non-dependence in critical technologies
- ESA Council at Ministerial level – CM25: ESA’s long-term strategy and vision for 2040, outlining goals for innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness
The ESTMP serves as a reference for stakeholders across Europe, supporting informed decision-making and fostering collaboration to ensure Europe remains at the forefront of space technology.
To access to the publication please contact us by email at estmp@esa.int from a corporate email address providing business affiliation and position in the company.