EARS Project (European Advanced Reusable Satellite)

Founded
Country
2023
Italy
Funding
$1.4M
Website
https://www.earsproject.eu/
Social
EARS Project (European Advanced Reusable Satellite)

Product/Service

Classification
Cargo Transportation & Landers
Category
Transport Service (Re-Entry)
Reusable Satellite
Fields
Space Capsule
Inflatable Atmospheric Decelerator
Status
Concept, Development
First launch
Not announced

Currently, no reusable satellites are operational in the world. Only spaceplanes and capsules are available for research and commercial activities in space, but they are either very expensive or with very limited flexibility and capabilities covering the high-end sector of market.

In the EARS project, we target the low-cost, microsatellite market, with the development of an affordable, flexible paltform that can be easily produced in large numbers.

The reusable spacecraft is intended to de-orbit in a controlled manoeuvre to deliver its products and results back to the Earth after several months in orbit, thereby enabling innovative research that would benefit from the space environment, especially from microgravity conditions.

The long-term vision of the EARS project is a family of small satellite platforms that can be launched and reused frequently at a very competitive price without polluting the environment and wasting resources, both in space and on Earth.

Main applications:

Project:

Consortium:

First review meeting, 02-02-2024

The first month of 2024 has been very busy for the EARS Consortium: the very first review meeting took place on January, 25th 2024!

All EARS partners have gathered together to present the project’s state of play and the activities carried-out in the first year of the project to the Project Officer from the European Commission and the external expert serving as a Reviewer.

The meeting has been the occasion to present the EARS spacecraft preliminary architecture presented by the University of Padua and its concept of operations outlined by DEIMOS. All main sub-systems requirements and specifications were presented and discussed, from the green propulsion system under development at T4I labs to the innovative inflatable heat shield proposed by Von Karman Institute. A minisatellite platform – with flight heritage – manufactured by Kongsberg NanoAvionics will serve as the baseline for the EARS spacecraft study.

Similar Organizations

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Workspaces

A-SpaX (Affordable Space Access)

Cancelled, Development

Commercial Sample Return, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Agile Space Industries

Concept, Dormant

Asteroid Mining Spacecraft

Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

AMi Exploration (ARCA Space, Asteroid Mining Program)

Development

Inflatable Atmospheric Decelerator (IAD), Space Return Service, Phoenix

Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

ATMOS Space Cargo

Development

B300

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

AZSpace

Demonstrated

SpaceDrone

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Space Tug, Reusable Satellite, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

BlackStar Orbital Technologies

Early stage

Mk-II Aurora, Mk-III

Microgravity Flight Service (Suborbital), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Suborbital Testbed

Dawn Aerospace

Development

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Downmass

Development, ?

Back From Space (BFS)

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

e.Nova Aerospace

Concept

ELS-R, ELS-RS

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

ElevationSpace

Development

Foton Spacecraft

Foton

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Foton (Photon)

Retired

GTL

Hyperion

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Transport Service (LEO-Moon), Commercial Lander, Commercial Lunar Lander, Space Tug, Orbital Transportation

GTL (Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories)

Early stage

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

HStar Space Transport

Early stage

Retriever, Resource Exchange Module (REX)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Persistent Platform, Robotic Space Station

In Orbit Aerospace

Development

MERCAP

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Independence-X

Early stage

Interspace Explore

ZengZhang

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Earth-LEO)

Interspace Explore (i-Space, Interstellar Glory, Beijing Interstellar Development Technology)

Development

URV (Universal Re-entry Vechicle)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Intuitive Machines

Cancelled

Ray, Arc

Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Inversion Space

Development

HSRC (HTV Small Re-entry Capsule), HTV, HTV-X

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Lunar Lander

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

Demonstrated

LEAP

In-Space Manufacturing, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

LEAP

Development

VBK-Raduga

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

MKB Raduga (Raduga Design Bureau)

Dormant, Discontinued

Glide2

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Hardware

NewSpace Systems

Development

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Orbital Bridge

Early stage

Ferry, Cargo Ferry

In-Space Manufacturing, Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Outpost Space

Development, Launched

Space Truck

Space Tug, On-Orbit Servicing, In-Space Manufacturing, In-Space Assembly, Transport Service (Re-Entry), Orbital Transportation

Plasmos

Cancelled, Development

Olympus, Pythom Spaceship

Commercial Lander, Commercial Lunar Lander, Transport Service (Re-Entry), Commercial Space Station

Pythom

Early stage

Radian One

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Human Spaceflight, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Radian Space

Development

LASER (Lunar Ascent Sample Earth Return)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Commercial Sample Return

RadioBro

Idea, Dormant

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Raven Dynamics

Early stage

In-Space Manufacturing, Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Raven Space Systems

Development

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), In-Space Manufacturing

Reenter Space (Reentry Systems)

Dormant, Early stage

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

ReOrbital

Development

ARGO

Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Earth-LEO)

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA)

Concept, Development

ARGO

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

RTSS (Reusable Vehicles Space Systems, MKTC)

Dormant, Early stage

Oryx, Mini Space Brake (MSB)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Resources - Water, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)

Shackleton Energy

Dormant

Meteoroid Complementary Descent Module, ASTREO

Space Tug, Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Logistics

Sidereus Space Dynamics

Concept

Dream Chaser, Shooting Star

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Sierra Space (Sierra Nevada Corp, SNC)

Development

Ghost

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Sierra Space (Sierra Nevada Corp, SNC)

Development

RED-25, RED-DATA2

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

SpaceWorks Flight (Terminal Velocity)

Launched, Demonstrated, Development

Starship, Starship HLS, Starship Human Landing System

Human Landing System, Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Transport Service (LEO-Moon), Point-to-point

SpaceX

Development, Launched

Dragon, Dragon 2, Cargo Dragon

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

SpaceX

Active

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Stoke Space

Development

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Space Tourism Activities, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

t/Space (Transformational Space Corporation)

Dormant

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Thales Alenia Space

Development

The Fairchild Space Company

Commercial Space Station, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

The Fairchild Space Company

Dormant, Cancelled

VSI-LAB

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Vanguard Space Industries

Early stage, Dormant

In-Space Manufacturing, In-Space Production, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Varda Space Industries

Demonstrated, Development

SpaceCase

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Way4Space (ArianeGroup)

Development

ASTROLAB SAS

Commercial Space Station, Reusable Satellite, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

ASTROLAB SAS

Development

SpaceDrone

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Space Tug, Reusable Satellite, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

BlackStar Orbital Technologies

Early stage

FSW

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Reusable Satellite, Recoverable Satellite, Returnable Satellite

FSW China Recoverable Satellites (Guangmei, Shijian 19, SJ 8, Sj 10, China Academy of Space Technology))

Development

On-Orbit Servicing, Reusable Satellite, Space Robotics

Growbotics Space

Early stage

Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm

SPAS (Space Pallet Satellite), Saenger, Sänger

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Reusable Satellite, Point-to-point, Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Robotic Space Station

Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB)

Cancelled, Acquired

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Reusable Satellite, Commercial Space Station, Robotic Space Station, In-Space Platform, Persistent Platform

Orbital Paradigm

Development

Black Bay

Space Tug, Transport Service (LEO-GEO), Orbital Transportation, Propellant Refilling, Propellant Refuel Station, Reusable Satellite

SpaceRyde

Dormant, Bankrupt