ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For Official Useemits.sso.esa.int/emits-doc/ESTEC/News/ItoP_SAOCOM... ·...

ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For Official Use

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Invitation to participate in selection of subcontractors for

the SAOCOM Companion Satellite project

1. Background of the SAOCOM Companion Satellite (“SAOCOM CS”) project:

Argentina, through the Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), is developing an L‐band SAR mission with a constellation of two LEO spacecraft in a sun‐synchronous dusk‐dawn orbit. The planned launcher, a Falcon‐9, has an excess capacity and CONAE has offered to ESA the possibility to use this excess of capacity. In response, ESA has explored a bi‐static extension of SAOCOM’s SAR observation by means of a receive‐only Companion Satellite (provisionally called SAOCOM‐CS) flying in formation with SAOCOM, which would act as an illuminator for enabling single‐pass interferometry. SAOCOM is an L‐band full‐polarimetric SAR mission targeted at applications in hydrology and agriculture, particularly via soil moisture observations. SAOCOM will include satellites flying at antipodal positions in a sun‐synchronous dawn‐dusk orbit at approximately 620 km altitude. The SAOCOM L‐band instrument features standard, high resolution and global coverage operational modes with resolution ranging from 5 m to 100 m, and with swath of 50 km to 400 km. SAOCOM‐CS is targeted to be launched together and to be flown in formation with a SAOCOM satellite. Consequently, the development of SAOCOM-CS is 30 months from the start of the Phase B2 and it is driven by its combined launch with a SAOCOM satellite. The Agency has issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for the SAOCOM‐CS satellite contract to QinetiQ Space n.v. The core team of the industrial consortium will include (i) QinetiQ Space n.v. – as System Prime and Platform Contractor and (ii) Airbus DS Spain (EADS Casa Espacio S.L.) – as Payload Prime. Both QinetiQ Space n.v. and Airbus DS Spain will select subcontractors for certain elements, identified below in sections 3 and 4 of this document, in a competitive selection procedure, described in section 2 below.

2. Procedure for competitive selection of subcontractors

Competitive selection of subcontractors will be conducted by QinetiQ Space n.v. or Airbus DS Spain, as the case may be. Both QinetiQ Space n.v. and Airbus DS Spain shall ensure fair and equal treatment of all bidders as well as transparency and impartiality of the competitive selection process. Subcontracts shall be put out to competition on broadest possible basis within the Participating States to the Earth Observation Envelope Programme 4. To date, all the following ESA Member and Associated States and Canada are participating in said EOEP‐4 Programme: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom, and Canada.


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Following publication of this Invitation to participate in selection of subcontractors for the SAOCOM

Companion Satellite project, interested entities shall notify their interest – via a letter of interest – to

contact points in QinetiQ Space n.v. or Airbus DS Spain and by a deadline specified in sections 3 and 4

below.

QinetiQ Space n.v. or Airbus DS Spain will then distribute the tender documentation (including tender

specifications) to all interested bidders at the same time, on the date specified in sections 3 and 4

below.

Bidders may then submit their tenders to, respectively, QinetiQ Space n.v. or Airbus DS Spain, for

evaluation by the date specified in sections 3 and 4 below.

When selecting their subcontractors, QinetiQ Space n.v. and Airbus DS Spain will take into account (i)

industrial heritage, (ii) technical suitability of the proposal, (iii) credibility of the schedule and its

compliance with the overall SAOCOM CS schedule (iv) credibility of costing and (v) acceptance of

contract conditions. Finally, in making the final recommendation, the price quoted shall be taken into

consideration such as to determine the best combination between technical quality/credibility and

price.

In order to guarantee fair and equal treatment of all bidders as well as transparency and impartiality of the competitive selection process, any disputes related to or resulting from such selection process may be referred to the ESA Industrial Ombudsman. Section VII of the Agency’s Best Practices for the Selection by Prime Contractors in the frame of ESA’s Major Procurements (ref. ESA/IPC(2012)65, rev.2 – this document is available on http://emits.sso.esa.int/emits/owa/emits.main under "Reference Documentation" ‐‐‐> "Administrative Documents") shall apply accordingly.


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3. Procurements by QinetiQ Space n.v.

Procurement no 1– QinetiQ Space n.v.

Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS – Guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software

Short Description: The subcontractor shall deliver a fully verified GNC software to QS. The

subcontractor shall perform the design, development, manufacturing and

testing of the SAOCOM‐CS AOCS Software. The AOCS SW shall be in charge of

the overall attitude and orbit control of the S/C, both under nominal and non‐

nominal situations. It consists of three main elements:

• Guidance: implementing strategies to support the various mission activities,

such as detumbling, payload observations and downlink

• Navigation: estimation of the S/C attitude and orbit based on the platform’s

sensor suite (star tracker, GNSS receiver, magnetometer)

• Control: defining commands for the actuators (reaction wheels and

thrusters)

Because of the specific nature of the SAOCOM‐CS mission, flying in a loose

formation with SAOCOM satellite, special attention to safety and collision

avoidance shall be given, as well as to the re‐entry.

Because of the short development time available, bidders are encouraged to

propose OTS solutions and technologies (> TRL6) with relevant heritage.

Options: None

Deadline for

submission of letter

of interest: 14/07/2016

RfP release date to

interested bidders: 15/07/2016

Closing date for

proposal

submission: 26/08/2016


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Projected KO date: B2 ‐ Q4 2016

C/D ‐ Q2 2017

Delivery schedule: FM delivery : KO+12 mths

Price target: Total: 500 000 €

B2: 50 000€

CDE1: 450 000€

Contact points: [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ End‐to‐end system characterisation and calibration support

Short Description: In particular, the subcontractor shall

‐ define and perform a dedicated end‐to‐end on‐ground system

characterisation and calibration programme

‐ detail and consolidate the end‐to‐end in‐flight system calibration strategy

(commissioning and nominal operations), including definition of external

calibration equipment to be deployed

‐ define the algorithms to be applied for on‐ground and in‐orbit

characterisation and calibration

‐ define and identify the relevant facilities

‐ execution of the calibration plan during the Phase E1


propose OTS solutions and technologies (> TRL6) with relevant heritage.

Options: None


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Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal



C/D ‐ Q2 2017

Delivery schedule: The subcontractor shall provide support functions up to the E1 phase.

Price target: Total: 550 000 €

B2: 50 000€

CDE1: 500 000€


[email protected]

[email protected]

Procurement no 3 – QinetiQ Space n.v.

Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ Propulsion subsystem

Short Description: The subcontractor shall deliver a fully integrated and tested propulsion

subsystem to QS. As a subsystem supplier, the contractor shall be responsible

for the subsystem design, analysis as well as selection of all components such

as tanks, valves, filters, thrusters, etc. The current baseline design consists out

of a blow‐down mono‐propellant system capable of delivering 90 m/s delta‐v


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for orbit control purposes with 4 nominal and 4 redundant thrusters attached

to two independent branches fed by propellant coming from a single conical

mounted propellant tank.

The subcontractor shall also be responsible for procurement of the propellant,

transport and filling at launch site and necessary leak tests (before and after

mechanical tests).


propose OTS solutions and technologies (> TRL6) with relevant heritage. The

proposed model philosophy shall be in accordance with heritage/TRL.

Components shall be Class 3 or better.

Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal



C/D ‐ Q2 2017


Price target: Total: 2 000 000 €

B2: 250 000€

CDE1: 1 750 000€


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[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM ‐ Star Tracker assembly

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver a set of 2 star tracker fully integrated and tested to

QS. The star tracker assembly shall be able to determine fully autonomously

the 3‐axis attitude without initialization either inertial or relative to the Sun,

the Earth or to the Moon. The requested assembly shall consist of redundant

electronics and redundant camera heads, where both camera heads can be

used simultaneously with either part of the electronics. A reference cube is

requested against which the bore‐sight of each optical head is accurately

known. Each camera optical head unit shall have a relative accuracy of 3 arcsec

(1‐sigma) pointing and 30 arcsec (1‐sigma) about the boresight, or better. The

contractor is responsible for the design, development, manufacturing,

assembly, integration and testing of the SAOCOM‐CS star tracker assembly.





Options: None

Deadline for




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RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal


Projected KO date: Q2 2017


Price target: 780 000€


[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ Magnetometers

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver a set of magnetometers fully integrated and tested to

QS. The supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of

the units. The supplier will also demonstrate proper qualification with respect

to the specified environmental conditions by test or heritage, and perform the

acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The magnetometers will need to

provide the direction and magnitude of the Earth’s magnetic field in the range

from ‐60 µTesla to 60 µTesla or better.





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Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ Reaction wheels

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver a set of 4 reaction wheels fully integrated and tested

to QS. The supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of



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acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The reaction wheel assembly

includes motor drive electronics and the electronics to regulate the motor

speed and motor torque in closed loop. The reaction wheels are required to

achieve a momentum of 0.38Nms and deliver a torque of 18mNm as a

minimum.





Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


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Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ Magnetotorquers

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver a set of 3 magneto‐torquers fully integrated and

tested to QS. The supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and

manufacturing of the units. The supplier will also demonstrate proper

qualification with respect to the specified environmental conditions by test or

heritage, and perform the acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The

torquers are required to be internally redundant and the direction of the

magnetic field shall be switchable by reversing the polarity of the supply

voltage. The torquers will be controlled using a bang‐bang type of control. The

magneto‐torquers are required to generate dipole of at least 10Am2.





Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal





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[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ Battery

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the batteries fully integrated and tested to QS. The

supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of the units.

The supplier will also demonstrate proper qualification with respect to the

specified environmental conditions by test or heritage, and perform the

acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The battery shall support a

nominal 28V unregulated power bus and provide a target capacity of around

~24Ah, a value which is TBC by the supplier.





Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to



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Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ PVA

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the PVA fully integrated and tested. The supplier is

responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of the units. The

supplier will also demonstrate proper qualification with respect to the


acceptance tests before delivery of the units. Each solar panel shall consist of

a basic mechanical structure, an insulating layer, solar cells with coverglass

and interconnectors, a temperature monitoring sensor, string interconnect

bus, appropriate wiring and an electrical connector that allows to connect

each panel. The whole PVA shall generate ~14A at EoL conditions, a value

which is TBC by the supplier.Because of the short development time available,

bidders are encouraged to propose OTS solutions and technologies (> TRL6)

with relevant heritage. The proposed model philosophy shall be in accordance

with heritage/TRL. Components shall be Class 3 or better.


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Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ S‐band transceiver

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the S‐band transceiver fully integrated and tested to





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acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The S‐band transceiver shall be in

accordance with ECSS RF&modulation standards and shall accommodate the

following functionalities:

‐ a telecommand function, i.e. reception and demodulation of phase‐

modulated signals received from ground;

‐ a telemetry function, i.e. phase modulation and transmission to ground

‐ ranging & Doppler tracking (requested as an option)





Options: Ranging & Doppler tracking

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]


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[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ S‐band antenna

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the S‐band antenna fully integrated and tested to QS.

The supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of the

units. The supplier will also demonstrate proper qualification with respect to

the specified environmental conditions by test or heritage, and perform the

acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The S‐band antenna shall have

omni‐directional gain pattern, providing at least ‐3dBi at 90deg off‐nadir.

Anechoic caps will be requested as option.





Options: Anechoic caps

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal





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[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ X‐band transmitter

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the X‐band transmitters fully integrated and tested.

The supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of the

units. The supplier will also demonstrate proper qualification with respect to

the specified environmental conditions by test or heritage, and perform the

acceptance tests before delivery of the units. Each X‐band transmitter shall

support at least 200Mbps at its input, perform convolutional coding of the

input data stream and provide at least 10W output power.





Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to



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Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ X‐band antenna

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the X‐band antennas fully integrated and tested to




acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The X‐band antenna shall have

isoflux gain pattern, providing at least 3dBi at ~60deg off‐nadir angle.

Anechoic caps will be requested as option.





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Options: Anechoic caps

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


Title of the Activity: SAOCOM‐CS ‐ PDHU

Short Description: The supplier shall deliver the PDHU fully integrated and tested to QS. The

supplier is responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of the units.

The supplier will also demonstrate proper qualification with respect to the


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acceptance tests before delivery of the units. The PDHU shall acquire, store,

format, multiplex and transmit data delivered by the SAOCOM‐CS payload &

platform to the X‐band transmission subsystem. The PDHU shall provide

storage capacity of at least 2Tbit (although the design shall sow some

expandability) and support data ingestion up to 2,5Gbps.





Options: None

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal






[email protected]

[email protected]


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4. Procurements by Airbus DS Spain (EADS CASA Espacio S.L.)

Procurement no 1– Airbus DS Spain (EADS CASA Espacio S.L.)

Title of the Activity: HDRM & DEM (incl. EGSE)

Short Description: SAOCOM‐CS L‐band antenna is a patch array antenna split into three different

panels: One Central panel and two lateral ones that will be stowed during the

launch phase and deployed once in‐orbit.

The lateral panels will be attached to the satellite walls during the launch

campaign and held by the use of 4 hold‐down and release mechanisms

(HDRM) for each of the panels.

Once in orbit, the HDRM will be activated and the panels will deploy by means

of a spring‐based Deployment Mechanism (DEM), each of them by using one

DEM composed of a fixed and a sliding hinges.





Options: 0‐g Device

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal



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Projected KO date: KO of Phase B2

Delivery schedule: QM: June 2017

FM: July 2018

Price target: Total: 1.1M€

B2: 50k – 100k€

CDE1: 1 M€

Contact points: Paula Saameño

[email protected]

Fernando Cespedosa

[email protected]

Procurement no 2 – Airbus DS Spain (EADS CASA Espacio S.L.)

Title of the Activity: PVS (Performance Verification Simulator)

Short Description: In order to predict the overall system performance during the development of

the L‐band instrument, a Performance Validation Simulator (PVS) is needed.

The PVS shall predict the bi‐static SAR performance parameters specified at

system and subsystems level.

In addition, the PVS shall be a tool not only for the analysis of the flight

segment but also to be used in the on‐ground E2E mission simulator.

This simulator shall focus on the tomographic and along‐track bi‐static

geometries of SAOCOM‐CS mission.

Options: Implementation of the external synchronization link

Deadline for



RfP release date to


Closing date for

proposal



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Projected KO date: KO of Phase C/D

Delivery schedule: Preliminary versions:

June 2017 (PDR + 3m)

Dec 2017 (CDR ‐ 2m)

Final version:

May 2018 (CDR + 3m)

Price target: Total: 0.4‐0.6M€

B2: 50k€

CDE1: 350‐550k€

Contact points: Paula Saameño

[email protected]

Alberto Zurita

[email protected]

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