For the REACH assessment, the proposed method relies on both ESA’s existing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework and the Materials & Processes Technology Board (MPTB) database. Then, the method was structured through three steps:

• Firstly, a commonality was found between the LCA and MPTB databases: ECSS classes, which help define small groups of materials defined as 'clusters', are used to 'bridge the gap' in terms of level of precision between the LCA model of a space system and the MPTB database;

Current technologies for measuring the ion velocity of ion thrusters (and therefore their efficiency) are based on slow measurements that can take up to 8 hours against seconds for new technologies based on fluorescence, optical fibre spectrometry or laser spectroscopy. ORBITA aims to select and enhance one of these technologies to develop a diagnostic device capable of performing real-time measurements of thruster plumes.

The technical activities covered in this project allowed the creation of several numerical tools that can predict the thermoelectric/thermomagnetic response to different thermal loading conditions, material properties (thermal and electrical) and geometrical configurations.

Several numerical studies were performed using both commercial and dedicated numerical analysis procedures for the assessment of the thermoelectric behaviour of simple geometries under specific thermal loading conditions.

Augmented reality (AR) displays are image-forming systems that use a set of optical, electronic, and mechanical components to generate images somewhere on the optical path between an observer’s eyes and the physical object to be augmented.

AR provides a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment and augments (or supplements) this view with computer-generated input such as sound, video, graphics, 3D objects or GPS data.

Resulting from an ever increasing public pressure, the quest to be environmentally friendly is transforming the competitive landscape, as eco-friendly design results in a new frontier of innovation. As a public sector intergovernmental organisation, ESA is committed to prioritising environmental concerns in all its activities. Through its Clean Space initiative, the Agency is pioneering an eco-friendly approach to space activities.

Recently, a variety of satellite constellations, some of them featuring over a thousand satellites, were announced. While similar concepts for large constellations already existed in the past, existing satellite constellations hardly ever feature triple-digit satellite quantities. At the time of writing, the world’s largest constellation is operated by Planet Labs and consists of 190+ Dove spacecraft.

Moving charges produce magnetic fields. Since thermal transients produce an electric current, thermal transients produce magnetic fields. It has been shown that the generation of these magnetic fields in the vicinity of sensitive instruments leads to a degradation of recorded data.

Getting closer to a theoretical solution and to an effective mitigation technique will help magnetic missions in ESA’s Science programme, Earth Observation programme and, in fact, all missions that employ magnetic-sensitive sensors.

According to the United Nation Environment Program (2005), “Marine Litter” is defined as any item that has been made or used by people and deliberately or accidently discarded either directly into the sea or coast or transported from land into the marine environment.

The technical objective of this study was to understand the net effect of using deorbiting technologies like sails or tethers over the future debris population around Earth. In principle, indeed, these attractive technologies will support the compliancy to post-mitigation disposal guidelines, for small missions. However, the increased cross section also increases the collision risk.