ESA VDES Arctic System Study

ESA VDES Arctic System Study

Invests research teams and institutions for ESA VDES Arctic System Study in space technology and defense innovation.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The ESA VDES Arctic System Study 2026 is a single-award contract commissioned under ESA's ARTES 4S programme line ('Space Systems for Safety and Security'), co-funded by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science (UFSN). UFSN allocated EUR 425,000 from Denmark's EUR 1.7 million contribution to the ARTES 4S line agreed at ESA's Ministerial Conference in Bremen in November 2025. The study's purpose is to define, assess, and consolidate technical and programmatic options for a VHF Data Exchange System satellite infrastructure (VDE-SAT) serving Arctic communication needs, including Greenland, with a target operational date no later than 2030. Study duration is up to nine months.

Eligibility is restricted to Danish industrial and academic primes; non-Danish subcontractors from eligible ESA member states may participate provided they obtain formal authorisation from their National Delegation before applying. The proposed work must not overlap with any previous or active ESA or national activities held by any member of the applicant consortium. ESA opened the campaign through its Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP); the RFI deadline was 10 April 2026 and has now passed. This award cycle is therefore closed.

Should the study recommend proceeding to a development, validation, and demonstration phase, a further EUR 1.275 million has been pre-allocated by Denmark to contribute to ESA co-funding for that follow-on phase. The study scope explicitly includes consultation with relevant Greenlandic stakeholders and assessment of potential commercial services supported by private co-investment. Contacts at UFSN are Alexandra Martinussen Vikner (amv@ufm.dk, +45 72 31 95 01) and Peter Mandix Sehestedt (pse@ufm.dk, +45 72 31 82 02).