The Workshop on Simulation for European Space Programmes (SESP) has been organised by ESA on a bi-annual basis since 1990. In 2010, the scope of SESP was widened to include the subject areas of the closely associated Workshop on Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE), which until then has been organized as a separate event since 1992. SESP became therefore the Workshop on Simulation and EGSE for Space Programmes.

The overall context of the Workshop is Space Systems Design and Verification, with the emphasis on functional aspects. The systems supporting this process range from System Concept Simulators, Mission Performance Simulators, Functional Engineering Simulators, Software Verification Facilities, Integration and Test benches and associated EGSE, up to simulators to support operations. An important justification for bringing exactly these disciplines together in a single Workshop is that they have significant commonalities in terms of e.g. standards, databases, methods and tools, but also in content and objectives. These commonalities are worth nurturing and exploiting for synergies and efficiency gains.

With regards to these subjects, the SESP workshop is a uniquely focused forum where representatives of Space Agencies and Industry can present and discuss the current state-of-the-art as well as future trends and needs. As such it also provides an excellent opportunity for systems developers and users to meet outside of a contractual context, to share experiences with related tools, techniques and practices.

Furthermore, the SESP workshop aspires to serve as an exchange forum for new ideas and to trigger and encourage plans for future work. On the subject of industrial policy, ESA anticipates feedback from the National Agencies and Industry on new R&D activities, and on the expected role of ESA within the Simulation and EGSE professional community.

The SESP workshop content is split into:

• SESP “classic” technical themes and 
• A SESP spotlight on a specific topic: In 2023 this will be “Digitalisation”