Preparing demonstration missions for collaborative Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions
Horizon Europe Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space
Funding Amount
€2.0M - €6.0M
Deadline
25/09/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution
Trusted by
What is the Preparing demonstration missions for collaborative Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions Call?
Grant Description
This call supports mid to high technology readiness level research and innovation in digitalisation for satellite communication and Earth observation systems. It addresses the need to enhance end-to-end mission capabilities, onboard and ground data processing, data resilience and integration with terrestrial networks. Funded projects will develop digital building blocks, software frameworks, open hardware alternatives and modular testbeds to strengthen European competitiveness, foster new commer...
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
Projects are expected to contribute to one or more of the following outcomes:
• Enable the European space industry to maintain a significant share of the global connectivity market by increasing performance of space satellite networks and fully integrating new control, space and ground segments into terrestrial networks
• Create new commercial services and applications enabled by advanced digitalisation of space solutions
• Deliver advanced EO payloads, technologies and processing capabilities across multiple spectrum and frequency bands (on ground and in space), including optimized data downlink methods for all observation missions
• Foster development and deployment of global, more flexible and reactive space-based service applications
• Strengthen EU space sector competitiveness, reduce strategic dependencies, and support EU value-chain safeguarding in digital and deep-tech space technologies
• Enable the European space industry to maintain a significant share of the global connectivity market by increasing performance of space satellite networks and fully integrating new control, space and ground segments into terrestrial networks
• Create new commercial services and applications enabled by advanced digitalisation of space solutions
• Deliver advanced EO payloads, technologies and processing capabilities across multiple spectrum and frequency bands (on ground and in space), including optimized data downlink methods for all observation missions
• Foster development and deployment of global, more flexible and reactive space-based service applications
• Strengthen EU space sector competitiveness, reduce strategic dependencies, and support EU value-chain safeguarding in digital and deep-tech space technologies
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
Proposals must address one or more of the following R&I areas (must clearly identify the main area):
1. End-to-End SatCom Mission Capabilities
• Satellite network interconnectivity and seamless terrestrial network integration
• Contribution to ongoing standardisation efforts
• Increased network reactivity and compatibility with 5G/6G
• Optical communications, inter-satellite links, reconfigurable payloads
• Satellites as network nodes in a distributed system; distributed computing
• Flexible, modular testbeds for performance and interoperability assessment
• Data fusion techniques
2. On-Board Processing for EO Performance and Timeliness
• Standardised software frameworks for embedded edge-computing (AI, ML) and multi-spectrum image processing
• Data and signal processing pipelines; enhanced data downlink/uplink
• EO ground segment interface and data-flow standardisation; ground-relevant use‐case demonstrations
• Smart multi-source EO intelligence extraction and fusion algorithms
• Miniaturisation and digitalisation of EO instruments; enhancement of European optical detector supply
3. Synergetic Technologies Across EO and SatCom
• Technologies for system security and threat identification
• Resource-usage optimisation and environmental-criteria measurement tools
• High-performance processing hardware for payloads; flexible payload data downlink software functions
• Demonstrations in ground-relevant environments or in orbit; support for open-hardware alternatives (e.g., RISC-V)
Additional Requirements:
• Proposals must promote cooperation among diverse actors (industry, SMEs, research institutions)
• Activities must be complementary to and build on existing H2020, Horizon Europe, national and ESA-funded projects
• Projects should include plans for rapid commercialisation via ground or in-orbit demonstration
• Balanced portfolio: at least one grant awarded to the highest-ranked proposal in each of the three R&I areas (subject to thresholds)
1. End-to-End SatCom Mission Capabilities
• Satellite network interconnectivity and seamless terrestrial network integration
• Contribution to ongoing standardisation efforts
• Increased network reactivity and compatibility with 5G/6G
• Optical communications, inter-satellite links, reconfigurable payloads
• Satellites as network nodes in a distributed system; distributed computing
• Flexible, modular testbeds for performance and interoperability assessment
• Data fusion techniques
2. On-Board Processing for EO Performance and Timeliness
• Standardised software frameworks for embedded edge-computing (AI, ML) and multi-spectrum image processing
• Data and signal processing pipelines; enhanced data downlink/uplink
• EO ground segment interface and data-flow standardisation; ground-relevant use‐case demonstrations
• Smart multi-source EO intelligence extraction and fusion algorithms
• Miniaturisation and digitalisation of EO instruments; enhancement of European optical detector supply
3. Synergetic Technologies Across EO and SatCom
• Technologies for system security and threat identification
• Resource-usage optimisation and environmental-criteria measurement tools
• High-performance processing hardware for payloads; flexible payload data downlink software functions
• Demonstrations in ground-relevant environments or in orbit; support for open-hardware alternatives (e.g., RISC-V)
Additional Requirements:
• Proposals must promote cooperation among diverse actors (industry, SMEs, research institutions)
• Activities must be complementary to and build on existing H2020, Horizon Europe, national and ESA-funded projects
• Projects should include plans for rapid commercialisation via ground or in-orbit demonstration
• Balanced portfolio: at least one grant awarded to the highest-ranked proposal in each of the three R&I areas (subject to thresholds)
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
- Eligible costs under a Horizon Europe lump sum grant (HORIZON-AG-LS); model grant agreement and lump sum rules apply
• Admissibility: page limits and layout per Work Programme Annexes A/E; submission via single-stage procedure by 25 September 2025, 17:00 Brussels time
• Eligibility: participants from EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries per Annex B; subject to financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria (Annexes C)
• Subject to protection restrictions for European communication networks
• Mandatory use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data/services if using satellite-based EO, positioning, navigation or timing data
• Proposals must report results to the co-programmed European Partnership on Globally Competitive Space Systems (GCSS) for KPI monitoring and will be eligible for a STEP Seal if exceeding evaluation thresholds
• Complementarity with specified previous topics (H2020 and Horizon Europe) in critical space technologies, SatCom, high-speed data chains and EO end-to-end technologies
• Integration of the gender dimension in R&I content only if relevant to project objectives
• Admissibility: page limits and layout per Work Programme Annexes A/E; submission via single-stage procedure by 25 September 2025, 17:00 Brussels time
• Eligibility: participants from EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries per Annex B; subject to financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria (Annexes C)
• Subject to protection restrictions for European communication networks
• Mandatory use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data/services if using satellite-based EO, positioning, navigation or timing data
• Proposals must report results to the co-programmed European Partnership on Globally Competitive Space Systems (GCSS) for KPI monitoring and will be eligible for a STEP Seal if exceeding evaluation thresholds
• Complementarity with specified previous topics (H2020 and Horizon Europe) in critical space technologies, SatCom, high-speed data chains and EO end-to-end technologies
• Integration of the gender dimension in R&I content only if relevant to project objectives
Important dates
Open from: 22/05/2025
Deadline:25/09/2025
Application period has ended
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