General Support Technology Programme (GSTP)

The General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) 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 UK 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:

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 €250k, with up to €200k being supported by UKSA)the UK Space Agency) and Building Block activities (up to up to €1m, with up to €500k being supported by UKSA).the UK Space Agency). These are not subject to Industrial Policy Committee (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 via the Information & Guidance link. 

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. 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 UKSAUK Space Agency 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. The UK issued calls 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 concluded and the UK has selected the activities that are being supported. This information can be found on this web page, and it is updated regularly with expected release dates on ESA STAR.  

ANY UK entity may bid for the activities, up to the value supported by UKSA,the UK Space Agency, once released on ESA STAR, as this is a competitive tendering process. These activities may also be supported by other member states, therefore there is no guarantee that a UK entity will be the winning bidder. 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 UKSAthe UK Space Agency will only support the UK element of any bid, if you are collaborating with another member state(s). 

Further information regarding the application process and all relevant documentation can be found on this web page. 

Please note that the UK will not be issuing another Compendia Call prior to the next European Space Agency (ESA) Council of Ministers Meeting in November 2025.

Should you have any enquiries, please contact the GSTP team, at GSTP@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) Information Events

The UK GSTP Team are running regular information sessions to provide an overview of GSTP, the opportunities it provides, and to explain the process of applying for funding.

GSTP Information Session Dates:

• Monday 1930 AugustSeptember, 2024,2pm to 2:45pm
• Wednesday 6 November, 2pm to 2:45pm

• Tuesday 3 December, 2pm to 2:45pm
• Wednesday 22 January, 2pm to 2:45pm

Please contact the GSTP team by email at gstp@ukspaceagency.gov.uk if you would like to attend a session. Please note that there will be other external entities on the call who will be able to see your dial in information.