EARS Project (European Advanced Reusable Satellite)

In the EARS project, we design a reusable small satellite and develop the related critical technologies. The reusable spacecraft is intended to de-orbit in a controlled manoeuvre to deliver its products and results back to the Earth.

Created: 2024-02-03

Updated: 2024-02-24

Company - EARS Project (European Advanced Reusable Satellite)

Founded
Country: 2023; Italy

Funding: $1.4M

Website: https://www.earsproject.eu/

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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.

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