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: EARS Project

Social

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.

Link

Similar Organizations

A-SpaX

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Workspaces

Development

Agile Space Industries

Commercial Sample Return, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Concept, Dormant

AMi Exploration

Asteroid Mining Spacecraft

Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Development

ATMOS Space Cargo

Inflatable Atmospheric Decelerator (IAD), Space Return Service, Phoenix

Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

AZSpace

B300

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

AZSpace

Demonstrated

BlackStar Orbital Technologies

SpaceDrone

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Space Tug, Reusable Satellite, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Early stage

Dawn Aerospace

Mk-II Aurora, Mk-III

Microgravity Flight Service (Suborbital), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Suborbital Testbed

Development

Downmass

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

ElevationSpace

ELS-R, ELS-RS

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Development

Foton Spacecraft

Foton

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Retired

GTL

Hyperion

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Transport Service (LEO-Moon), Commercial Lander, Commercial Lunar Lander, Space Tug, Orbital Transportation

Early stage

HStar Space Transport

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Early stage

In Orbit Aerospace

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Persistent Platform, Robotic Space Station

Development

Independence-X

MERCAP

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Early stage

Interspace Explore

ZengZhang

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Earth-LEO)

Development

Intuitive Machines

Nova-C

Commercial Lunar Lander, Transport Service (LEO-Moon), In-Space Communications Relay, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Demonstrated

Intuitive Machines

URV (Universal Re-entry Vechicle)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Cancelled

Inversion

Ray, Arc

Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

JAXA

HSRC (HTV Small Re-entry Capsule), HTV, HTV-X

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Lunar Lander

Demonstrated

LEAP

In-Space Manufacturing, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Development

MKB Raduga

VBK-Raduga

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Dormant, Discontinued

NewSpace Systems

Glide2

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Hardware

Development

Orbital Bridge

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Early stage

Outpost

Ferry, Cargo Ferry

In-Space Manufacturing, Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Development, Launched

Plasmos

Space Truck

Space Tug, On-Orbit Servicing, In-Space Manufacturing, In-Space Assembly, Transport Service (Re-Entry), Orbital Transportation

Cancelled, Development

Pythom

Olympus, Pythom Spaceship

Commercial Lander, Commercial Lunar Lander, Transport Service (Re-Entry), Commercial Space Station

Early stage

Radian Space

Radian One

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Human Spaceflight, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Development

RadioBro

LASER (Lunar Ascent Sample Earth Return)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Commercial Sample Return

Idea, Dormant

Raven Dynamics

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Early stage

Raven Space Systems

In-Space Manufacturing, Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Development

Reenter Space

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), In-Space Manufacturing

Dormant, Early stage

Rocket Factory Augsburg

ARGO

Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Earth-LEO)

Concept, Development

RTSS

ARGO

Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Dormant, Early stage

Shackleton Energy

Oryx, Mini Space Brake (MSB)

Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Resources - Water, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)

Dormant

Sidereus

Meteoroid Complementary Descent Module, ASTREO

Space Tug, Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Logistics

Concept

Sierra Space

Dream Chaser, Shooting Star

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

Sierra Space

Ghost

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

SpaceWorks Flight

RED-25, RED-DATA2

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Launched, Demonstrated, Development

SpaceX

Starship, Starship HLS, Starship Human Landing System

Human Landing System, Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Transport Service (LEO-Moon), Point-to-point

Development, Launched

SpaceX

Dragon, Dragon 2, Cargo Dragon

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Active

Stoke Space

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

tSpace

Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Space Tourism Activities, Transport Service (Re-Entry)

t/Space (Transformational Space Corporation)

Dormant

The Fairchild Space Company

Commercial Space Station, Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

The Fairchild Space Company

Dormant, Cancelled

Vanguard Space Industries

VSI-LAB

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Early stage, Dormant

Varda Space

In-Space Manufacturing, In-Space Production, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Transport Service (Re-Entry)

Demonstrated, Development

Way4Space

SpaceCase

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Microgravity Flight Service (LEO)

Development

ASTROLAB SAS

Commercial Space Station, Reusable Satellite, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Development

BlackStar Orbital Technologies

SpaceDrone

Transport Service (Re-Entry), Space Tug, Reusable Satellite, Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite)

Early stage

FSW Recoverable Satellites

FSW

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Reusable Satellite, Recoverable Satellite, Returnable Satellite

Development

Growbotics Space

On-Orbit Servicing, Reusable Satellite, Space Robotics

Early stage

Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm

SPAS (Space Pallet Satellite), Saenger, Sänger

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Microgravity Flight Service (Reusable Satellite), Reusable Satellite, Point-to-point, Transport Service (Earth-LEO), Robotic Space Station

Cancelled, Acquired

Orbital Paradigm

Microgravity Flight Service (LEO), Reusable Satellite, Commercial Space Station, Robotic Space Station, In-Space Platform, Persistent Platform

Development

SpaceRyde

Black Bay

Space Tug, Transport Service (LEO-GEO), Orbital Transportation, Propellant Refilling, Propellant Refuel Station, Reusable Satellite

Dormant, Bankrupt