Periodic Reporting for period 3 - 2-3SST2018-20 (Second funding line in Work Programme 2018-2020 for the further development of a European SST Service provision function)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-06-01 do 2024-06-30
The 2-3SST2018-20 project has been implemented in the form of a Specific Grant Agreement (SGA) addressing the objectives identified in the SST Support Framework and the H2020 Work Programme 2018-2020, under the EUSST Framework Partnership Agreement (EUSSTFPA).
The 2-3SST2018-20 project was built upon the results obtained in the previous 1SST, 2SST and 3SST grants in 2015 and 2016-17. In this context, the specific objectives are as follows:
1. Foster European cooperation on the SST domain.
2. Improve the EUSST performance towards larger autonomy.
3. Pave the way for the evolution of the European SST architecture in order to be able to respond to new challenges on space.
They constituted a set of clear, measurable, realistic and achievable objectives within the duration of the project that contribute to the global objective as declared in the “Decision of the European Parliament and the Council Establishing a Space Surveillance and Tracking Support Framework” n°541/2014/EU (“SST Decision” hereinafter) [AD-1], adopted on April 16th 2014:
“to contribute to ensuring the long-term availability of European and national space infrastructure, facilities and services which are essential for the safety and security of the economies, societies and citizens in Europe”, providing support to the “actions aimed to establish a SST capability at European level and with an appropriate level of European autonomy”.
The activities developede have also been aligned with the evolution of the SST Support Framework by Regulation (EU) 2021/696 that established the SST of the Space Regultation sub-component that contributes to ensuring the sustainable and guaranteed access to and use of space,
The specific objectives of the SST Support Framework were:
a) Assessing and reducing the risks to in-orbit operations of European spacecraft from collisions, thus enabling spacecraft operators to plan and carry out mitigation measures more efficiently; Reducing the risks relating to the launch of European spacecraft;
b) Surveying uncontrolled re-entries of spacecraft or space debris into the Earth's atmosphere and providing more accurate and efficient early warning with the aim of reducing the potential risks to the safety of Union citizens and mitigating potential damage to terrestrial infrastructure;
c) Seeking to prevent the proliferation of space debris.
The 2-3SST2018-20 project was built upon the results obtained in the previous 1SST, 2SST and 3SST grants in 2015 and 2016-17. In this context, the specific objectives are as follows:
1. Foster European cooperation on the SST domain.
2. Improve the EUSST performance towards larger autonomy.
3. Pave the way for the evolution of the European SST architecture in order to be able to respond to new challenges on space.
They constituted a set of clear, measurable, realistic and achievable objectives within the duration of the project that contribute to the global objective as declared in the “Decision of the European Parliament and the Council Establishing a Space Surveillance and Tracking Support Framework” n°541/2014/EU (“SST Decision” hereinafter) [AD-1], adopted on April 16th 2014:
“to contribute to ensuring the long-term availability of European and national space infrastructure, facilities and services which are essential for the safety and security of the economies, societies and citizens in Europe”, providing support to the “actions aimed to establish a SST capability at European level and with an appropriate level of European autonomy”.
The activities developede have also been aligned with the evolution of the SST Support Framework by Regulation (EU) 2021/696 that established the SST of the Space Regultation sub-component that contributes to ensuring the sustainable and guaranteed access to and use of space,
The specific objectives of the SST Support Framework were:
a) Assessing and reducing the risks to in-orbit operations of European spacecraft from collisions, thus enabling spacecraft operators to plan and carry out mitigation measures more efficiently; Reducing the risks relating to the launch of European spacecraft;
b) Surveying uncontrolled re-entries of spacecraft or space debris into the Earth's atmosphere and providing more accurate and efficient early warning with the aim of reducing the potential risks to the safety of Union citizens and mitigating potential damage to terrestrial infrastructure;
c) Seeking to prevent the proliferation of space debris.
At the end of the project, a large number of deliverables (97 registered) have been prepared and submitted. These deliverables contained most of the technical details of the work and results achieved within the work packages of the project.
The late signature of the grant has negatively impacted the initiation of some activities (i.e.subcontracts). The COVID19 pandemic and the difficulties in the supplies chain also impacted negatively on the project development. Despite some of the delays were recovered a one-year extension was needeed to finish some of the sesor upgrades (WP8)
The progress report corresponding to this Final Review (D1.16) provides further details about the activities carried out during this reporting period time (From 1st June 2022 to 30th June 2024) It must be combined with the information provided after the IR2 (D1.10)
At the end of the prooject the work has sucessfully finished as show 97 deliverables submitted . The most remarkable results tangilbe obtained are:
• integration of new sensors to the network according to a structured procedure
• assessment of the precursor orbit catalogue performance
• evalution of EUSST services in close relation with users
• studies on new elements
• definition of a System Desing and Development Plan
• development of a coordinated planner (COPLA) tool prototype
• upgrades in the sensor network
• increase the impact of the activities through an structured dissemination plan
Addtionally some remarkable progress has been also made in managerial aspects:
• Approval and application of Quality Assurance Plan.
• Systematic monitoring of the feedback through a traceability matrix
The late signature of the grant has negatively impacted the initiation of some activities (i.e.subcontracts). The COVID19 pandemic and the difficulties in the supplies chain also impacted negatively on the project development. Despite some of the delays were recovered a one-year extension was needeed to finish some of the sesor upgrades (WP8)
The progress report corresponding to this Final Review (D1.16) provides further details about the activities carried out during this reporting period time (From 1st June 2022 to 30th June 2024) It must be combined with the information provided after the IR2 (D1.10)
At the end of the prooject the work has sucessfully finished as show 97 deliverables submitted . The most remarkable results tangilbe obtained are:
• integration of new sensors to the network according to a structured procedure
• assessment of the precursor orbit catalogue performance
• evalution of EUSST services in close relation with users
• studies on new elements
• definition of a System Desing and Development Plan
• development of a coordinated planner (COPLA) tool prototype
• upgrades in the sensor network
• increase the impact of the activities through an structured dissemination plan
Addtionally some remarkable progress has been also made in managerial aspects:
• Approval and application of Quality Assurance Plan.
• Systematic monitoring of the feedback through a traceability matrix
The main ambition of the 2-3SST2018-20 was designed to progress in the increase of the level of autonomy of the EUSST system, both in terms of coverage and quality of the data, in order to provide high added value services to the users.
In order to achieve this, on top of the tasks and activities devoted to the enhancement of the current system (WP4, WP5, WP6 and WP8) to ensure the service provision is in line with the state of the art, WP7 had to pave the way for the future of the EUSST system in response to the evolution of the environment, both from the technological perspective (evolution of the orbital environment, novel detection techniques, ground-breaking data processing capabilities, new users’ needs…) and from the political factors (new actors and stakeholders, evolution of the space regulation…
This was foreseen to be achieved by:
- Pooling of national assets that fulfil the requirements identified in the architecture trade-off studies to increase the autonomy in terms of orbital coverage and number of catalogued objects.
- Exploring the optimum use of the available assets by developing a coordinated scheduler, ensuring that the contribution of the of the sensors to the catalogue and the services is maximised
- Evolving the services and the Front Desk in a way that the products generated and its delivery to the users meet to the best extent the user needs considering the available resources.
It was also expected to contribute to the long-term availability of the European and national infrastructure, by means of upgrading existing assets and exploring new techniques and technologies to ensure an evolution of the system and the services in line with the future needs, both from users perspective, as well as from the point of view of the space environment and political decisions (e.g. space regulation).
In short, the impact 2_3SST2018-20 has
• completely fulfilled the target of fostering and enhancing the European Cooperation through more intensive data sharing with improved Data Base, the COPLA tool, common procedures for integration, and a cooperative provision of services using all MS contributions.
• been totally successful Improving the EUSST performance towards larger autonomy. More assets with better capabilities, better processing capabilities with the catalogue precursor in a balanced, cost-effective designed system and a clear development plan, The evolution of services CA, FG and RE have strengthened the relationship with users in framework of trust and close collaboration,
• been successful beyond its main objectives paving the way for an improved provision of high-quality user driven services under Space Reg , allowing the extension of sensor network to commercial sensors, and consolidating a framework of collaboration and continue improvement culture in the HE grants
In order to achieve this, on top of the tasks and activities devoted to the enhancement of the current system (WP4, WP5, WP6 and WP8) to ensure the service provision is in line with the state of the art, WP7 had to pave the way for the future of the EUSST system in response to the evolution of the environment, both from the technological perspective (evolution of the orbital environment, novel detection techniques, ground-breaking data processing capabilities, new users’ needs…) and from the political factors (new actors and stakeholders, evolution of the space regulation…
This was foreseen to be achieved by:
- Pooling of national assets that fulfil the requirements identified in the architecture trade-off studies to increase the autonomy in terms of orbital coverage and number of catalogued objects.
- Exploring the optimum use of the available assets by developing a coordinated scheduler, ensuring that the contribution of the of the sensors to the catalogue and the services is maximised
- Evolving the services and the Front Desk in a way that the products generated and its delivery to the users meet to the best extent the user needs considering the available resources.
It was also expected to contribute to the long-term availability of the European and national infrastructure, by means of upgrading existing assets and exploring new techniques and technologies to ensure an evolution of the system and the services in line with the future needs, both from users perspective, as well as from the point of view of the space environment and political decisions (e.g. space regulation).
In short, the impact 2_3SST2018-20 has
• completely fulfilled the target of fostering and enhancing the European Cooperation through more intensive data sharing with improved Data Base, the COPLA tool, common procedures for integration, and a cooperative provision of services using all MS contributions.
• been totally successful Improving the EUSST performance towards larger autonomy. More assets with better capabilities, better processing capabilities with the catalogue precursor in a balanced, cost-effective designed system and a clear development plan, The evolution of services CA, FG and RE have strengthened the relationship with users in framework of trust and close collaboration,
• been successful beyond its main objectives paving the way for an improved provision of high-quality user driven services under Space Reg , allowing the extension of sensor network to commercial sensors, and consolidating a framework of collaboration and continue improvement culture in the HE grants