Brussels, 31 March 2023
Today, the Commission published new calls for expression of interest to gather In-orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) experiments for the period 2023–2026.
The In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) service allows new technologies to be tested in orbit by providing aggregation, launch services and operations. This initiative will give a major boost to start-ups in the EU and accelerates their time to market.
The calls for expression of interest are open until 15 March 2026, and foresee several cut-off dates for application. Interested entities are invited to submit their application until 31 May 2023, 18:00 CEST – closing date of the first application period. As a novelty, two parallel calls for expression of interest are open to gather technologies and/or components needing aggregation as well as ready to flight satellites. This latest call is jointly issued with the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Commission and ESA are preparing the Flight Ticket Initiative that will be operational as of late 2023. It will stimulate new launcher systems through the pre-booking of launch services. The Commission will act as an anchor customer for the launch service needs of IOD/IOV missions selected as a result of these calls.
The IOD/IOV service is a key instrument of the Commission in support of innovation and start-ups, as part of the CASSINI initiative that provides support to space companies in the EU. It also helps scientific excellence in supporting universities and research institutes. The initiative benefits the global competitiveness of the European space sector, supports EU independence and aims at providing European engineers with hands-on experience in real-world space programmes. It is part of space research activities in the frame of Horizon Europe.
Source – EU Commission