KEYNOTE TALKS

Payload Data Handling – Bridging Mission Demands and Technology Capabilities

What to Expect: Space missions are generating exponentially larger volumes of data, driven by increasingly advanced payloads and more ambitious scientific or commercial goals. Meeting these demands, requires high-performance data handling systems including mass memory systems with high capacities, fast data throughput and high reliability. Simultaneously, advancements in onboard data processing and the adoption of powerful COTS Processors and FPGAs are shifting the paradigm from simple storage to intelligent data handling, enabling compression, interpretation or even onboard analytics. The gap between mission requirements and available technology remains significant, highlighting trade-offs in performance, power, and reliability. Bridging this gap and establishing the relevant roadmaps will define the capabilities of future missions.

About the Presenter: Timo Dirkes joined DSI in 2018 as a System Engineer, focusing on spaceborne mass memory and data handling equipment for both commercial and ESA projects. In 2021, he became Head of Engineering, leading the technical implementation of various flight program developments.

Earth Observation Missions: Past, Present, and Future

About the Keynote: Josep will take us on a journey through the technical and programmatic evolution of EO missions over the last 30 years. He’ll highlight emerging trends and technology needs for future missions, with a special focus on:

The Advanced Data Handling Architecture (ADHA)
The APA (Advanced Power Architecture) activities
Their connection to the upcoming Mid-size satellite INDustrialisation (M-IND) initiative

All within the broader geopolitical context of growing European competitiveness, sovereignty, and resilience in space.

About the Presenter: Josep Roselló leads the EO Technology Coordination section in the EO Future Missions and Architecture Department at ESA/ESTEC. He’s a Telecommunications Engineer from UPC Barcelona (ES) and holds an MBA from RMS Rotterdam (NL). He joined ESA in the Data Handling Division in D/TEC in 1992, and he moved to the D/EOP Directorate in 2007. He has contributed to numerous technologies in avionics, communications, navigation, and EO remote sensing. His work spans across flagship ESA missions and programmes such as Envisat, MetOp-SG, Copernicus, and several NewSpace missions.