Overview
FIRST! has announced an Invitation to Tender (ITT) that aims to de-risk disruptive technologies related to simulation intelligence for future space transportation in Europe, with a high commercial interest. The objective is to reach TRL 4-5 by software verification in a relevant environment such as breadboard testing.
FIRST! is an initiative with ESA’s programme for future space transportation, FLPP. Its goals are to identify innovative and promising technology disruptors benefitting future European space transportation and to accelerate their derisking through rapid prototyping and testing.
Invitation to Tender
Domains
ESA welcomes proposals for disruptive technologies related to simulation & intelligence in the following areas:
- Data-driven design & simulation for space transportation: Technologies that leverage novel data-driven methods to support the design, definition, simulation and de-risking of new space transportation systems and associated processes.
- Smart manufacturing & testing for space transportation: Technologies that leverage the latest digital technologies to improve the efficiency and capability to manufacture and test space transportation components, sub-systems and systems (e.g. Industry 4.0).
- On-board & embodied intelligence for space transportation: Technologies that leverage or support on-board decision-making (OBDM) to improve the autonomy and intelligence of space transportation systems during its operational phase.
Target Applications
Technologies could target applications such as:
- launch services
- in-space transportation services (e.g., space tugs, orbital transfer vehicles and in-space transportation infrastructure (e.g., orbital propellant depot)
- return from space
Participation
Participation is open to entities in FLPP participating Member States.
Companies selected for the ITT might also gain access to ESA’s Space HPC supercomputer at ESA ESRIN, in Italy, which is designed for complex simulations, data-intensive processing and machine-learning model training. The system offers flexible, high-performance CPU, GPU and mixed-node partitions, alongside secure data handling and a light application process.
The Invitation to Tender is open until 27 March 2026 at 13:00.
