ERS-EO ALPSTAR FEDERATED LAYER DEFINITION AND PRELIMINARY IMPLEMENTATION (ACTIVITY 2B)

Activity 2B addresses Phase B of the Alpstar Federation Layer, aiming to consolidate requirements, architecture, and prototype validation for a federated, multi stakeholder space system. Building on the MRD 2.0, this phase will define and specify all functional, technical, and security requirements of the Federation Layer, including secure interfaces with commercial service providers and Alpstar Nodes via unidirectional "diode" connections.The activity encompasses the full design of the Alpstar system architecture and the development and demonstration of a User Ground Segment prototype. Comprehensive specifications will be produced for all major Federation Layer components, ensuring interoperability, security, and scalability across federated participants.The procurement also includes the acquisition of a minimum of three months of satellite data, necessary to support validation and testing of the Ground Segment prototype under operationally representative conditions.A key deliverable of this phase is a User Ground Segment prototype featuring:A role based user interface, enabling differentiated access and operational views.An initial implementation of the Digital Governance Agent (DGA), enforcing a first set of provisional federation rules and acting as the central mission management and planning capability.The Alpstar Federated Layer shall integrate the following core functionalities:Digital Governance Agent (DGA)for federation rule enforcement and central mission managementSecure Data Pooling Service for controlled dissemination of observation resultsFederated Ledger to record and audit transactionsStandardised APIs interfacing with Nodes (FOS and PDGS)Federated Data Lake hosted in a cloud environmentVirtual Constellation Management for coordinated asset utilisationFederated CatalogueCross federation taskingNATO FMN / Joint ISR tasking interfaces routed to AlpstarRole based user interfaceFederation dashboard for operational and governance oversightWith a target duration of 12 months, the expected outcomes of Activity 2B include:Complete specifications of the Federation LayerDefinition of the Federation Layer architectureRough Order of Magnitude (ROM)cost estimate for implementationIdentification of the industrial consortiumDevelopment plan and integrated scheduleDemonstration of the User Ground Segment prototypeThis phase will provide the technical, architectural, and organisational foundations required to progress Alpstar toward a fully operational, secure, and governed federated space capability.