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.

Celeste: paving the way towards Positioning, Navigation and Timing in Low Earth Orbit (LEO-PNT)

What to Expect: Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services enabled by Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are foundational to the functioning of modern society.Despite their significant impact on our economy and daily life, traditional GNSS systems face well-known limitations. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites have emerged as a promising solution to address these challenges.ESA’s LEO-PNT initiative, the Celeste In-Orbit Demonstrator (IOD), aims to validate key enabling technologies such as frequency-diverse signal generation and transmission, on-board orbit determination and time synchronization and advanced small-satellite platforms to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of augmenting existing GNSS with a LEO-based layer.Beyond Celeste IOD, ESA is collaborating with the European Union to define a potential EU LEO-PNT operational system, complementing EGNOS and Galileo. The next phase, the Celeste In-Orbit Preparatory (IOP) phase under ESA’s FutureNAV programme, will encompass technology development, industrialization and in-orbit validation. This phase will be instrumental in shaping future institutional and commercial LEO-PNT initiatives.

About the Presenter: Miguel Cordero joined the European Space Agency as a Radionavigation Engineer in 2015. He has contributed to navigation programs such as EGNOS and Galileo, as well as to other missions leveraging space GNSS receivers. Since 2020, he has been actively involved in ESA’s LEO-PNT activities, including the Celeste IOD mission. Before joining ESA, Miguel worked on developing navigation modules for UAV autopilots.