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    Aug 31, 2023

    Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative

    Create a European commercial cargo service for human outposts in LEO!

    Director of Human and Robotic Exploration - David Parker

      The Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative

      The Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative provides an ad-hoc partnership/support scheme, whereby private companies receive support from ESA for the development of commercial cargo transportation services to human outposts in LEO. Such services shall specifically target operations with the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD). 

      The final goal of the Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative is to execute a demonstration mission delivering a minimum of 2 tons of pressurized cargo to the ISS, as well as safely returning a minimum of 1 ton back to Earth before the end of 2028. The provision of additional capabilities, such as the delivery of unpressurized cargo or more pressurized cargo is not excluded but it is not required.  If successful, ESA will follow-up the initiative with actual service contracts.

      Key Features

      • Companies retain full project authority, and full responsibility.
      • Each company needs to identify from the onset the end-to-end support, both in terms of in-kind contributions and actual financing, that is asked of ESA up to and including the implementation of the demonstration mission.
      • ESA’s financial/in-kind support is only meant to be a limited fraction of the overall funding necessary to complete the development of the cargo delivery system and implement the demonstration flight.
      • Each company will propose milestones demonstrating their actual progress, associated objectives and financial volumes/expected in-kind contribution, as well as the overall path forward that they consider most appropriate for their specific situation.
      • At each milestone, ESA will get insight in the development and assess progress in terms of both technical merit and securing of third-party funding.
      • ESA’s financial/in-kind contributions linked to the successful closure of each milestone will be fixed: any cost overrun to complete a milestone shall be borne by the companies.
      • Should a company not achieve the objectives of a specific milestone (be it on technical or financial grounds), ESA has the right to terminate its support and re-allocate funds accordingly. 

      Phases

      The Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative is articulated in three phases (the dates provided are preliminary and may be adjusted in the course of the initiative): 

      • Phase 1-1 (Sep. 2023 – June 2024)
      • Phase 1-2 (July 2024 – Dec 2025)
      • Phase 2 (Jan 2026 – Dec 2028)

      In Phase 1-1, which is the subject of the present Call for Proposals, up to two companies will be selected to advance their cargo delivery services up to the definition of a preliminary design and the securing of appropriate third-party financing. 

      In Phase 1-2, the service design of those companies that were successful in Phase 1-1 will be finalized and test articles produced to de-risk the most critical areas. In parallel, the companies involved will continue to secure the necessary third-party financing. 

      Phase 2 is the final step leading to the demonstration mission to the ISS before the end of 2028. This phase will be open to all companies, not just those that participated in Phase 1, as part of a separate procurement action.

      Tendering Process

      The tendering process for Phase 1-1 follows a two-steps approach: 

      • Step 1: Submission of an outline proposal, followed by
      • Step 2: Submission of a full proposal upon request from ESA

      The outline proposal shall allow ESA to assess projects for support under the Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative. Outline proposals will be ranked based on the criteria below and ESA will invite up to four top ranking Bidders to submit a Full Proposal. 

      Submission of an Outline Proposal

      Outline proposals shall be submitted electronically through this channel. Compliance to the requirements shall be demonstrated by the Economic Operators and the Outline Proposal will be evaluated according to the assessment criteria as defined below. 

      Tenderers are invited to submit an Outline Proposal before the deadline of July 3, 2023 at 23:59 CEST. 

      Submission of Full Proposal

      Following positive evaluation of the Outline Proposal, up to four top ranking Tenderers will be invited by ESA to submit a Full Proposal in accordance to the Special Conditions of Tender (hereunder referred to as “the SCT”). 

      Full Proposals shall be submitted exclusively in electronic format via esa-star Tendering. A dedicated “Bidder Restricted Area” will be created by ESA for this purpose. Please refer to https://esastar.sso.esa.int/. The SCT contain further information on esa-star and its operation. 

      Key Financial Aspects

      ESA has allocated a total of 2 MEuros for the execution of Phase 1-1, including both direct financial support and the financial countervalue of any in-kind support. The financial volumes associated with subsequent phases (i.e. Phase 1-2 and 2) will be defined at a later stage, taking into account the information acquired during Phase 1-1. 

      Requirements

      R1: The proposal shall be based on a privately-led initiative, with the Economic Operator taking responsibility for the full service development, deployment (incl. launch procurement), and funding scheme, throughout the whole value chain.   

      R2: The proposal shall target a commercially viable and sustainable business opportunity, oriented toward private sector customers, relying only on a minimum guaranteed European institutional demand in the operational phase and with a long-term vision of service provision.   

      R3: The proposal shall cover the end-to-end implementation of a cargo transportation service to and from human outposts in LEO, with specific focus on demonstrating such service in a demo mission to the International Space Station before the end of 2028.   

      R4: The demonstration mission shall deliver a minimum of 2 tons of pressurised cargo  and safely return to Earth a minimum of 1 ton from the International Space Station.  

      R5: The proposed cargo transportation service shall be compliant with the interface requirements contained in SSP 50808.  

      R6: The proposed cargo transportation service shall be launcher agnostic.  

      R7: The Bidder shall propose a milestone plan covering all three phases (Phase 1-1, Phase 1-2, Phase 2) of the Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative. Each milestone shall be associated with both technical and financial success criteria.   

      R8: As a minimum, the milestone plan shall include as technical success criteria:

      • the completion of preliminary design or equivalent by the end of Phase 1-1
      • the completion of critical design or equivalent by the end of Phase 1-2

      R9: As a minimum, the milestone plan shall include as financial success criteria:

      • the acquisition of appropriate third-party financing to complete Phase 1-2, by the end of Phase 1-1
      • the acquisition of appropriate third-party financing to procure the launch of the demonstration mission, by the end of Phase 1-2

      R10:  The proposal shall clearly specify the amount of financial support that is required of ESA in each of the three phases of the Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative.  

      R11: The proposal shall clearly specify the type of in-kind support (and its estimated financial countervalue) that is required of ESA in each of the three phases of the Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative. 

      R12: The proposal shall include and justify a projected price per kilogram to the International Space Station for the proposed transportation service after the successful execution of the demonstration mission. 

      Webinar (June 15 from 10:00 CEST)

      Can you develop a Commercial Cargo Transportation Service? Join the event to ask your questions to our panel of experts.

       

      The Campaign/Channel is open for submissions from companies or organizations, both at Contractor’s and subcontractor’s level, residing in any of the following states: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. 

      Please note, that restrictions exist for certain implementation paths, e.g. ESA procurement actions are restricted to entities eligible for doing business with ESA (see also here).

      Technical Credibility (Weighting Factor: 19%)

      ESA will assess the likelihood that the technical solutions identified for the implementation of end-to-end service are realistic within the assigned timeframe (i.e. execution of a demonstration mission to the International Space Station before the end of 2028) and proposed cost envelope.  

      Financial Credibility (Weighting Factor: 19%)

      ESA will assess the credibility of the projected costs up to and including the execution of the demonstration mission; evaluate the proposed extent of ESA’s co-funding (the lower, the better) and assess the credibility of the Tenderer’s plan to attract private investment for the part not covered by ESA. 

      Quality and Suitability for the Proposed Programme of Work (Weighting Factor: 19%)

      ESA will assess the compliance of the work proposed with the principles laid out in the Invitation Letter in esa-star. It is expected that the proposal provides for specific measurable technical and financial milestones, demonstrating how tangible results can be obtained.  

      Business Potential (Weighting Factor: 19%)

      ESA will evaluate the likelihood that the proposed service is competitive in the global market for cargo transportation to human outposts in Low Earth Orbit in the post-ISS timeframe. In this context, solutions that promote reusability will receive a higher marking.  

      European Content (Weighting Factor: 19%)

      ESA will assess the level of European content in the service proposals. Services delivered from ESA Member State territory, as well as services allocating the non-recurring cost for infrastructure and service development and deployment and the recurring cost during service provision to value added in ESA Member States will receive a higher marking.  

      Compliance with Administrative and Contract Conditions (Weighting Factor: 5%)

      ESA will assess compliance with the administrative and contract conditions on the basis of the statements and justifications provided by the Tenderer in the proposal.  

      Attachments

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      Campaign Manager - Antonio Fortunato, Ground Segment and Project Engineer

      Background Information

      Innovation Area

      Human and Robotic Exploration

      ESA’s Terrae Novae exploration programme is leading Europe’s human journey into the Solar System using robots as precursors and scouts. Exploring space is about travelling farther and coming back with new experiences and knowledge to help us on Earth. Humankind will benefit from the new discoveries, ambitions, science, inspiration and challenges. 

      Learn More