COPERNICUS SPACE COMPONENTS - COMPETITIVE FRAME CONTRACTS - ACQUISITION AND TTC SERVICES FOR COPERNICUS

This procurement targets the delivery of the Copernicus Space Component acquisition services, including the Sentinels X-Band data acquisition operations and the S-band Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TTC) services.The X-Band Acquisition service aims at the on-ground reception of data sensed by the Sentinel satellites and the delivery of the acquired data in the form of CADU data stream for further ground segment operations. The TTC services aim at the reception of the satellite telecommands, their modulation and radiation to the satellite.Although covering different functions of the Copernicus Space Component (CSC) operations, the above-mentioned services may be considered rather similar in terms of required infrastructure and operations capabilities of the service providers. Accordingly the current procurement will include the possibility to cover both services.Building upon the operational experience gathered in the past years since the launch of Sentinel-1A in 2014, ESA intends to procure as much as possible standardized services using Contractors' owned state-of-the-art, off-the-shelf facilities and satellite-independent interfaces.In order to maximize the competition and the value for money for the to-be-procured services, the Services will be procured through the ESA Framework Agreements procedure, as established at Article 15 of ESA Procurement Regulations (ESA/REG/001, rev. 3 which can be downloaded at the following URL http://emits.sso.esa.int/emits/owa/emits.main). This procedure consists therefore in a two-step procurement approach, broken down as follows: Step 1 -Qualification Phase: The objective of this Step is to award, through an Open Competition Frame Contracts with the entities qualifying for the performance of the services subject of this procurement. Step 2 -Implementation Phase: The objective of this Step is to award, through Restricted Competitions between the Frame Contractors qualified under Step 1, the Work Orders allowing the performance of the procured services.An Information day about the subject procurement was organized at the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2018. The location, date, registration process and Agenda of this briefing session was published on ESA Tendering website (EMITS) under "NEWS" (http://emits.sso.esa.int/emits/owa/emits.main). Potential bidders are invited to consult regularly ESA Tendering website (EMITS).The Acquisition And TTC Services For Copernicus procurements will be fundedby the Copernicus Programme and will be open exclusively to economic operators, which have their registered office in an EU Member State or Iceland or Norway.In order to access the Frame ITT Package from EMITS, any economic operator interested in the subject procurement will have to be registered as a potential ESA Tenderer. To register with ESA as a potential Tenderer, you will be requestedto complete the online questionnaire available ESA-STAR registration website: https://esastar-emr.sso.esa.int. While the registration process is underway, potential ESA Tenderers may access the Frame ITT Package through ESA's dedicated Copernicus server, which is accessible at: https://copernicus-emits.esa.int/