Guidance

GSTP Information & Guidance

Updated 18 December 2024

1. Overview

The General Support Technology Programme addresses new needs and emerging applications. Its objectives are to enable activities at ESA and National Programmes by developing technology, to support the competitiveness of UK and European industry, foster innovation and transfer non-space technology (spin-in) to use in the design of new space systems and enhance European technology non-dependence and the availability of European resources for critical technologies.

The GSTP is split into three elements;

	Element 1 - Develop	Element 2 - Make	Element 3 - Fly
Description	Technology developments for future missions, ground applications and tools	Development of technology and products for commercial sustainability	In-orbit demonstration of new technologies, preparation for future missions, small missions
Purpose	Development of technologies, building blocks, components and test beds for projects for future missions. Including Platform, Payload, Ground Segment and Engineering tools.	Strengthen worldwide competitiveness in new and existing markets. Develop products in response to gaps in the supply chain and develop new technology and products for commercial sustainability.	Implement in-orbit demonstration of new technologies either as: products in need of securing flight heritage; hosted payloads; or complete space missions (small spacecraft, cubesats, systems etc). Conduct investigations and studies to prepare for future missions including breakthrough and new generation missions and ad hoc missions.
Organisations	Start-ups, SMEs, Primes, Universities, and research organisations	SMEs, Primes, Universities, and research organisations	SMEs, Primes, Universities, and research organisations
TRL level	Minimum TRL 3 up to qualification	Mid TRL (3-7)	Successful flight testing takes technologies to TRL9
Funding	Fully funded/co-funded	Co-funded	Co-funded
Call/ITT	ITT opportunities on ESA STAR – support confirmation required by participating states prior to issue of ITT. De-risk and Building Block frameworks	Permanent open call for proposals	Permanent open call for proposals
IP	ESA rules apply	ESA rules apply	ESA rules apply

2. Introduction

The UK has subscribed €83m at the 2022 Council of Ministers to the ESA General Support Technology Programme.  This programme covers all technology projects (with the exception of Telecoms payloads).  

Proposals and bids may be made by consortia, across industry with or without academic institutions’ involvement. These may include involvement of companies and organisations from other ESA Member States. However, should a consortium include an entity from another Member State that participant will need to secure their delegate’s support for their financial share. 

There are two routes through which GSTP projects are initiated:

2.1. Non-Compendia

Activities that are proposed directly by companies or research organisations, non-compendia activities. These proposals must be supported by the Member State; unsolicited applications directly to ESA will not be considered. These consist of smaller de-risk activities (up to €200k) and building block activities (up to up to €1m, with up to €500k being supported by UKSA). These are not subject to IPC approval.  

Element 1 De-risk Follow-On, Element 2 and 3 activities also fall into this category but they are subject to Industrial Policy Committee approval. 

Calls for non-compendia activities are issued quarterly. Further information and the application process can be found in Sections 3 & 4. 

Please note that the information provided will be treated as commercially sensitive but may be used within the UK Space Agency to enhance awareness of UK capabilities. The relevant parties will be fully consulted prior to publication of any part of the information contained therein.

2.2. Compendia

Activities proposed by ESA, these are listed in themed compendia. which are available online on ESA’s online tendering system ESA STAR, with the most recent compendia being published in November 2022 and March 2023.  

There are a total of 143 activities in the current compendia and they are categorised as follows - Generic Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Digitalisation, Quantum Technologies and Cybersecurity. Activities which have attracted the interest of one or more Member States. 

An additional Compendium for the new component Electrical, Electronic and Electro-mechanical (EEE) Sovereignty was issued in March 2023 which contains 13 proposed activities.  

In addition to these compendia a document containing potential activities for the SOLARIS Space Based Solar Power Specific Area was also published and is being treated by the UKSA in the same way as the compendia listed above. 

Following the issue of the Compendia Member States were invited to subscribe funding to individual activities to ESA. Calls were issued in March 2023 for the first compendia (issued in November 2022) and in June 2023 for the EEE compendium, inviting applicants to indicate their interest in these activities.  

These calls have now been concluded and the UK has selected the activities that are being supported. This information can be found on the UKSA GSTP web page, and it is updated regularly with expected release dates on ESA STAR. 

ANY UK entity may bid for activities, up to the value supported by UKSA once released on ESA STAR, as this is a competitive tendering process. These activities may also be supported by other member states and therefore there is no guarantee that a UK entity will be the winning bidder. As the bids are reviewed by ESA’s Technical Evaluation Boards and member states are not involved in selecting the successful candidate.  

If you are considering bidding for an ITT, as a consortium, please note that UKSA will only support the UK element of any bid, if you are collaborating with another member state(s).

3. Non-Compendia activities – Information

UK industry including start-ups and SMEs, universities and research organisations both within and outside the sector, are invited to engage with the UKSA GSTP team to discuss their areas of interest for, Framework activities - Element 1 De-risk (Phase 1), De-risk Follow-On (Phase 2), Building Block and Direct Negotiation, Element 2 and 3 activities.

3.1. Element 1 - De-risk (Phase 1) and Follow-On (Phase 2) Framework

These activities have a multi-phased approach, starting with an initial small De-Risk activity (Phase 1), fully funded up to €200k, aimed to unblock barriers ahead of the Follow-On (Phase 2) activity.

De-risk and Follow-On activities: 

• Initial De-Risk activities (Phase 1) are fully funded up to €200k (the value of the activity may be up to €250k, which would require match funding from the applicant). This activity must be delivered within 9 months. 
• Initial De-Risk activities (Phase 1) for studies will be funded up to €80k only. The study must be completed within 6 months. 
• Match funding of up to 50% will be required for the Follow-On (Phase 2) activity, which is subject to discussion with the UKSA GSTP Team. 
• Applicants will be required to apply for De-Risk Follow-On (Phase 2/3) activities, using the same application process. There is no guarantee that the Follow-On activity will be supported, as this is dependent on the recommendation received from the ESA technical officer and the assessment of the GSTP Review Panel. 
• Minimum start level of TRL 3

Activities should include at least one of the following tasks: 

• Analysis of specifications, development actions, schedule and cost 
• Assessment of the benefits and disadvantages of the solution with respect to the state-of-the-art. 
• Assessment of critical issues related to using a given technology for a specific application, using analysis/simulation and/or breadboarding.

3.2. Element 1 - Building Block Framework

These have a maximum support level of €500k (but the value of the activity may be up to €1 million, which would require match funding from the applicant).  

Building Block activities: 

• Targets the building of capabilities.  
• Prepare and develop enabling capabilities and the associated building blocks for space related systems and the associated sub-systems. 
• Support of up to €500k per activity (the value of the activity can be up to €1m per activity). The activity must be delivered within 18 months. 
• Nominal technology development activities, with typical deliverables 
• Minimum start level of TRL 3

3.3. Element 1 - Direct Negotiation

When a UK entity is approached by ESA to undertake specific technology development as they are considered specialists, they will still need to secure UKSA’s support for the proposed activity and will need to follow due process including an initial discussion with UKSA GSTP Team.

3.4. Element 2 - Make

These activities should be related to the improvement or development of satellite subsystems or equipment (including EGSE), space transportation subsystems or equipment up to engineering model or qualification model, and the improvement or development of ground/user system and equipment up to prototypes and commercialized products. 

• The amount of funding requested is subject to discussion with UK GSTP Team prior to submission.  
• Match funding of 50% is usually required for all Element 2 activities.  
• There are no restrictions regarding the time required to deliver the activity.  
• Minimum start level of TRL 3 up to TRL 7.

3.5. Element 3 – Fly

These activities are to implement in orbit demonstration of technologies, either as products in need of acquiring flight heritage, hosted payloads (including using ISS platforms), CubeSats, or complete small missions.  

They can also conduct investigations and studies to prepare for future missions including breakthrough, new generation missions and perform ad hoc small missions including any related enabling developments. 

• The amount of funding requested is subject to discussion with UK GSTP Team prior to submission.  
• Match funding of 50% is usually required for all Element 3 activities.  
• There are no restrictions regarding the time required to deliver the activity.  
• Minimum start level of TRL 7 up to TRL 9.

Alternative options for lower TRL proposals 

An alternative support mechanism for lower TRL activities, is the  ESA Open Discovery Ideas Channel which supports co-funded research, early technology developments and system studies. The ESA panel meets monthly, which enables applications to be fast tracked and applications do not require the UK delegate’s support.

4. Non-Compendia activities – Application Process

All relevant documentation and guidance can be found here: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-support-technology-programme-gstp  

There are 4 stages to the application process: 

• Stage 1 - UKSA Internal Review: Discussion and submission of documentation to UKSA for initial endorsement in order to proceed to Stage 2. 
• Stage 2 – ESA Technical Review: Applications proceed to Stage 2 when endorsed by the UKSA GSTP Review Panel. Applicant to submit an Outline Business Case (where applicable) to ESA for Technical Assessment. Once assessed, ESA GSTP Office provide UKSA GSTP Senior Programme Manager with a recommendation. 
• Stage 3 – Final decision and contracting: Final decision made by UKSA GSTP Senior Programme Manager as to whether to support the proposal. Applicant to enter into discussions and contracting with ESA if successful. 
• Stage 4 – Project commencement and progress tracking: Applicant to provide information regarding progress lifecycle to UKSA GSTP Team during project to via agreed reporting mechanisms.

4.1. UKSA Internal Review - Stage 1

4.1.1. Should you wish to initiate discussions with UKSA GSTP team regarding your proposal, please submit a completed Expression of Interest – Non-Compendia & Direct Negotiation Activities (EOI) form and request a meeting with the GSTP team via [email protected]. (This step is optional)

4.1.2. To request support for your activity, please complete and submit BOTH: 

• A completed Statement of Interest (SOI) form for Non-Compendia & Direct Negotiation Activities 
• The Declaration of UK Government Support form

Both documents should have ALL fields completed and should be submitted electronically in Word format to the GSTP Inbox at [email protected], noting the published submission and review panel dates. Where questions are not applicable, please enter ‘N/A’.

A completed Statement of Interest form must be submitted for each GSTP funding proposal, including Follow-On activities.

4.1.3. On receipt, the completed SOI will be compliance checked. If there are any queries, you will be contacted and will have 24 hours to respond. Only compliant applications will be considered by the Review Panel.

4.1.4. Applications are then forwarded to the GSTP Review Panel for assessment prior to the panel convening. The panel consists of Programme Leads from across UKSA and chaired by the UKSA GSTP Senior Programme Manager.

4.1.5. The GSTP Review Panel will judge the applications on the following criteria - technical merit, company vision, strategic value and fundability. The panel will be responsible for recommending which projects UKSA are ‘minded to support’ and should move to Stage 2 for an ESA technical review.

4.1.6. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by email within 10 working days of the panel convening, with limited feedback provided if the applicant is unsuccessful.

4.2. ESA Technical Review - Stage 2

4.2.1. Where the panel is ‘minded to support’ a proposal - the applicant will need to submit a completed ESA Outline Business Case (OBC) via the OSIP platform, uploading the accompanying ‘minded to support’ confirmation letter, which is attached to the email. This letter is to prevent unsolicited proposals being submitted to ESA without the knowledge of Member States’ delegates.

4.2.2. The ESA OBC must be submitted via the ESA OSIP platform as follows:

Application type	Timescale	IPC approval required
De-risk (Phase 1)	Within 28 days	No
De-risk Follow-On (Phase 2)	N/A	Yes
Building Block	Within 28 days	No
Direct Negotiation	N/A	Yes
Element 2	Within 42 days	Yes
Element 3	N/A	Yes

Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the application being terminated and you are not permitted to re-submit your proposal for consideration by GSTP for support.

4.2.3. Where an OBC is not requested (please see the table above), further discussions will be required with UKSA GSTP Team and ESA GSTP Office.

4.2.4. The ESA OBC will then be assessed by the relevant ESA technical officer, who will provide the UK GSTP Senior Programme Manager with their recommendation via the ESA GSTP Office.

4.3. Final decision and contracting - Stage 3

4.3.1. UKSA GSTP Senior Programme Manager will review the recommendation received and undertake any due diligence required including entering into to further discussions with the applicant and others including any ESA/UKSA personnel before making a final decision.

4.3.2. The applicant will be informed of the outcome by the UKSA GSTP Team via email with limited feedback provided if unsuccessful. Appeals against the decision are not permitted.

4.3.3. Successful applicants may then enter into negotiations and discussions with ESA, providing the necessary paperwork required – the UKSA GSTP Team are not permitted to become involved in these discussions.

4.3.4. Once these discussions have been concluded a Letter of Support will be submitted to ESA GSTP Office by ESA UKSA GSTP Delegate, committing the funding agreed for the activity.

4.3.5. Please note that IPC approval is required for De-risk Follow-On (Phase 2), Direct Negotiation, Element 2 and Element 3 activities and the contracting process will therefore take longer.

4.4. Project commencement and progress tracking – Stage 4

4.4.1. If you are successful in securing UKSA’s support for the proposed activity, you will be required to:

• Inform the UKSA GSTP Team within 5 working days that contracts have been finalised with ESA and the anticipated start date of the project. 
• Submit regular progress reports (timings TBC) to the UKSA GSTP Team 
• Schedule a mid-term progress discussion with UKSA GSTP Team 
• Invite the UKSA GSTP Team to attend the project closure meeting with ESA and provide an end of project closure report. 

These requirements apply to all projects where support has been secured through GSTP.

4.4.2. You will be required to inform the UKSA GSTP Team annually how the technology has progressed, including any missions or funding received from other UKSA programmes.

The decision of the UK Space Agency is final and there are no grounds for appeal at any stage. Limited feedback will be provided if your application is unsuccessful.

If you have any questions, please contact the UK GSTP Team via [email protected]