The European Space Agency Tender

Objective: Develop And Test Signal Reception Techniques That Enable Uncoordinated Satellite Access Schemes In The Maritime Bands Assigned To Vhf Data Exchangesystems (vdes) In The Presence Of In-band Interference From Maritime And External Sources Such As In-land Terrestrial Services. The Activity Will Carry Out Over-the-airtests Using Space Assets For On-board Reception Or Feeding On-ground Receivers With On-board Digital Samples Collected From The Space Segment.targeted Improvements: Allow To Operate At Least 10 Db Below The Noise And Interference Level. Improve The Signal Detection By At Least Factor Of Two In The Presence Of Overlapping Signals Due To The Random Nature Of Data Transmission Of Messages.description: The World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 Allocatedmaritime Vhf Frequencies For Two-way Vhf Data Exchange System Via Satellites, Making Spacecommunication An Integrated Component Ofthe Vdes. The Allocation Of Frequency In Wrc2019 Rectified Uncertainties And Potential Regulatory Risks In The Deployment Of Vdes Fortwo-way Communications, To And From Vessels Via Satellite. This Has Opened Up Opportunities For Communicating Short Messages Fromvessels To The Satellite Using Vhf Uplink Capacity. The Return Data Link From Remote Nodes (on-board Of Vessels) Can Have Variety Of Applications Including Legal Reporting, Fleet Management, Autonomy Of Vessels, Navigation And Geo-localisation. The Vdes Can Provide An Uncoordinated Access Via Satellite To Remote Nodes. This However Requires Sophisticated Detection Techniques On Board Of The Satellite To Detect And Decode Colliding Signals From Different Sources. Using Random Access Techniques Together Withinterference Cancellation At The Receiver Allows A Very Efficient Use Of The Limited Spectrum Allocated, Thus Maximising The Number Of Terminals Supported.the Impact And The Use Of Interference Cancellation For Different Scenarios Will Be Investigated And Trade-off Analyses Will Be Performed. Recent Measurements Haveshown That There Are Also External Interference Sources (from Land Mobile As Well As Long-range Radar) That Could Introduce Interference On The Uplink Vde-satchannel. Starting From Lessons Learned From Previous Vdes Via Satellite Experiments, As Already Reported In The Itu Recommendations And Study Reports, This Activity Shall Target The Development Oftechnologies That Are Suitable For The Cost-effective Implementation Of The Vdes Space Segment, Targeting Small Satellite Platforms, While Maintaining The Technical Requirements Of The Rf And Baseband Processing And Antenna Radiation Requirements. Evaluation, Simulations, Software Implementation Of Interference Mitigation Techniques Specifically Designed For Vde-sat Uplink Waveform Will Be Performed. Based On The Software And Simulations, An Interference Cancelling Demodulator For Vde-sat Spread Spectrum Format Will Be Implemented. A Test Campaign Using Existing Space Assets Will Be Then Organised To Demonstrate The Effectiveness Of The Proposed Solutions. The Test Campaign Can Be Carried Out Based On On-board Receivers Or Feeding On-ground Receivers With On-board Digital Samples Collected From The Space Segment. Disclaimer : Closing date mentioned is an assumption date, Please contact the tendering authority to get exact closing date.