Speaker
Description
ESA's vision towards a sustainable and competitive space transportation ecosystem relies on an optimised fleet of reusable launchers injecting payloads on Earth and Lunar parking orbits, combined with a "hub & spoke" space logistics network: with space tugs to reach the final orbits (e.g., for constellations phasing, exploration missions) and orbital infrastructures to support in-orbit servicing (e.g., orbital propellant depots). The In-Space Proof-of-Concept (InSPoC) missions initiated by ESA are a series of incremental In-Orbit Demonstrations (IODs) aiming at developing and demonstrating in space the required capabilities, building blocks and standardised interfaces to enable this European in-space transportation and logistics ecosystem (i.e. autonomous rendezvous and docking, in-space propellant refilling, on-board and shared intelligence in space, automated orbital transfer etc..). One of the objectives of these IODs is also to pave the way for ever more ambitious exploration missions, notably through in-space propellant (re)-filling of spacecrafts from strategically placed orbital propellant depots. The presentation will describe this incremental roadmap of IODs and the status of ongoing activities, notably providing an overview of the outcome of the InSPoC-1 Definition Phase on in-orbit rendezvous & docking.
