Innovative Propulsion
Innovative Propulsion
The ability to manoeuvre and travel through space is a fundamental one for numerous space missions. ESA’s innovative propulsion initiative has the main goal of boosting breakthrough technologies to harness significant benefits in terms of mass, performance, cost and flexibility.
This ESA cross-cutting initiative has the following additional objectives;
This ESA cross-cutting initiative has the following additional objectives;
To identify and support the strategic interest of ESA Member States, industry and academia
To stimulate the propulsion ecosystem of the ESA Member States
To increase the technology readiness, implement In-Orbit Validation/In-Orbit Demonstration missions, foster the research, development and testing capabilities and demonstrate the applications and services
To provide an increased visibility of innovative propulsion activities for space
The breakthrough technologies are grouped around 14 innovative propulsion topics, where each of them shall:
- Be at low TRL yet enough (≥TRL2) to be engineered
- Enable new missions or applications
- Facilitate the creation of new markets
- Enhance reliability and competitiveness
+Innovative propulsion topics
The focus is currently on consolidating the ESA innovative propulsion roadmap by consultation with ESA Member States’ industry, research institutes and academia.