European Space Agency Projects

How to get funding?

The ESA Industry Portal provides the community of industry and research institutes with concrete information on the ESA's Business Opportunities, informative material on how to do business with the ESA, and access to useful educational tools.

ESA projects are advertised on the electronic system EMITS (Electronic Mailing Invitation To Tender System). EMITS manages and presents all open Invitations To Tender (ITT) and announces Intended Invitations To Tender (IITT) to be released in the near future. Only registered users can consult the documentation related to an open ITT.

Before submitting a proposal to ESA in a mandatory and optional programme frame, and independently of the amount of the contract, it is mandatory to get in touch with the Luxembourg Space Agency and do the following:

• fill out the Project Support Request Form (PSRF) to be requested at the Luxembourg Space Agency;
• submit the PSRF to the Luxembourg Space Agency for review at least 2 weeks before the deadline;
• receive comments / validation from the Luxembourg Space Agency. If a support letter from the Luxembourg delegation is needed, the Luxembourg Space Agency will send it on the basis of the finalised support request form.

In parallel, applicants should:

• prepare the proposal to be submitted to ESA;
• submit the final draft proposal to the Luxembourg Space Agency at least 2 weeks before the deadline in order to take into account possible comments from the Luxembourg delegation;
• submit the final proposal to ESA and send a copy to the Luxembourg Space Agency.

ESA's selection procedures are compliant with the criteria of transparency, impartiality and non-discrimination. ESA evaluates project proposals and provides participants with feedback. Once the proposal is accepted (after a negotiation meeting), a contract is signed between  ESA and the participant.