EU Space Traffic Coordination Platform

Open procurement by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to award one direct services contract for the development and operational setup of the EU Space Traffic Coordination Platform (EU STCP); this is a tender, not a grant. Estimated total contract value €2,000,000, maximum duration 30 months, award on best price-quality ratio with price weighted 70% and quality 30%; submission is electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal with deadline 25 January 2027 at 23:59 Europe/Prague time. Bidders must submit a firm fixed-price proposal by work package, meet EU establishment, financial and technical selection criteria, and satisfy security and intellectual property obligations in the tender documents.

What it funds

Scope in one line

Contract to develop and set up operationally an EU Platform for Space Traffic Coordination (EU STCP): platform design, development, integration, verification, operational validation, training and warranty as detailed in the Invitation to Tender and Tender Specifications.

Who can apply

Any economic operator established in an EU Member State meeting the Participation Conditions (establishment, executive management in an EU Member State, not subject to control by a third country or third country entity), not excluded or rejected under the Financial Regulation, and able to comply with security, financial and technical selection criteria in the Tender Specifications.

Eligibility & security

Tenderers must hold required legal, financial and technical capacity; contractors or subcontractors handling EU classified information at RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED will need facility accreditation, a Local Security Officer and a reinforced NDU as specified in the Security Aspects Letter.

Key dates & submission

Submission is electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal/eSubmission; an EU Login account and PIC are required. Deadlines: tender submission 25/01/2027 23:59 Europe/Prague; public opening 01/02/2027 15:00 Europe/Prague. Contract notice published 26/10/2026.

Footnotes

1. 1Full procurement documents, Invitation to Tender and Annexes are on the Funding & Tenders Portal: EUSPA EU STCP tender page.

Opportunity identification and purpose

Who may apply and geographic eligibility

Eligibility, consortium and selection rules

Key participation rules and administrative requirements are specified in the Tender Specifications and annexes. Prime contractors and Core Team members must meet strict Access to Procurement conditions (established in a Member State, executive management in that Member State, commitment to carry out activities in one or more Member States, not subject to control by a third country or third country entity). Subcontractors carrying out security sensitive activities must comply with additional security accreditation rules and may request waivers only under defined conditions. Joint tenders (consortia) are allowed but must demonstrate compliance with competition law and explain why joint bidding is necessary or offers efficiencies versus individual bids.

Scope, deliverables and technical focus

Commercial, financial and application details

Evaluation, stages and success factors

Financial, legal and contractual obligations

Templates and attachments included

Procurement documentation published with the call (typical list — all available on the F&T Portal): Invitation to Tender (ITT), Annex I Tender Specifications (with Parts: Annex I.A Identification Sheet of the Tenderer; Annex I.B Declaration of Honour; Annex I.C Joint Bidding Power of Attorney; Annex I.D.1 Subcontractor Letter of Intent; Annex I.D.2 Non‑Subcontractor Letter of Intent; Annex I.E Template Financial Statements for the Selection Stage; Annex I.F.1 Template Financial Proposal / Financial Offer; Annex I.G.2 Template Non‑Disclosure Undertaking (Re‑Inforced); Annex I.H Participation Conditions (Parts 1–3); Annex I.K Statistical Reporting template; Annex I.L Statement of Compliance template; Annex I.N Terms of Reference; Annex I.R AI System Risk Classification Form), Annex II Draft Contract (with Annex II.IV Deliverables Acceptance Sheet template; Annex II.V Declaration of BIPRs template; Annex II.VI Declaration of FIPRs template; Annex II.VII Security Aspects Letter).

Key risks, requirements and practical notes for applicants

Summary — what is this opportunity about and how to explain it

This is an EU procurement led by EUSPA to contract delivery of an EU Space Traffic Coordination Platform (EU STCP). The procurement covers full lifecycle tasks — requirements capture with operators and authorities, system design, secure development and integration (containerised/Kubernetes architectures expected), verification and integration with EU SST and commercial SSA providers, operational validation and final handover plus warranty. The tender is an open procedure, submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required), with an estimated total contract value of €2,000,000 and maximum duration of 30 months. The contract includes strong requirements on security accreditation, handling EU classified information, intellectual property (foreground IPR assigned to the EU), financial robustness, and supply chain and SME participation. Tenderers must submit complete administrative, technical and financial envelopes following the provided templates and Annexes; the award is based on best price‑quality ratio with strict minimum technical thresholds. Interested organisations should prepare for rigorous selection checks (legal, financial, technical), plan for CIS and security arrangements if needed, compile audited accounts and detailed project and supply chain plans, and submit by the deadline 25/01/2027 23:59 CET.

Opportunity classification and purpose

This is a public procurement opportunity, not a grant scheme. The European Union Agency for the Space Programme intends to award one direct services contract for the development and operational setup of an EU Platform for Space Traffic Coordination, known as the EU STCP. The procurement is intended for an economic operator, consortium or suitable delivery team capable of combining space traffic coordination, engineering, software, systems integration, operational validation, security and project management capabilities 1.

The contract is structured around the delivery of a functioning coordination platform and its operational establishment. Applicants should therefore approach the opportunity as a fixed price, performance based tender rather than as a request for reimbursement of eligible project costs.

Contracting authority and procedure

The lead contracting authority is the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, with its headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic. The procedure reference is EUSPA/PRG/2026/OP/0007 and the procurement reference is EUSPA/OP/11/26. The TED reference is 207/2026, notice 738225-2026.

The procedure is an open procedure for services. The main CPV classification is 71300000, engineering services. No framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system is indicated. The intended result is a single direct contract rather than a series of framework contracts or grant agreements.

The official EUSPA notice describes the opportunity as open for submission and identifies 25 January 2027 at 23:59 as the submission deadline 2.

Key commercial and procedural information

Scope of work

The published financial proposal template identifies seven principal work packages. The tender should be organised so that technical, staffing and pricing information can be traced to each work package and its deliverables.

The procurement documents should be treated as controlling for the detailed technical scope, interfaces, performance requirements, milestones, deliverables, acceptance criteria and security obligations. The financial template indicates that the price must cover labour, supplies, manufacturing, subcontracting, licences and other costs required for delivery.

The price proposal must be submitted using the prescribed financial proposal template. It requires person days, planned staff numbers, total labour cost, other costs and a price for each work package. Other costs must be explained and justified in a separate note, including individual amounts for materials, subcontracting, licences, manufacturing and comparable cost categories.

Funding and payment structure

The €2,000,000 figure is the estimated overall value of the procurement and is not an award payable to each applicant. It represents the expected maximum commercial value of the contract opportunity as presented in the procurement information. There is no co financing rate, eligible cost reimbursement percentage, grant advance or grant instalment structure stated in the published metadata.

The financial proposal is based on a total firm fixed price covering the work packages. Applicants should include all costs necessary to perform the contract, including personnel, travel where applicable, software, licences, equipment, subcontracting, security compliance, testing, operational support, warranty and handover. Pricing omissions may create delivery and margin risk because the procurement is not presented as an open ended reimbursement mechanism.

Applicant eligibility

Eligible participation is subject to the detailed participation conditions in the tender specifications. The published declaration template indicates that each participating entity must generally be established in a Member State, have its executive management structures established in a Member State, commit to carrying out relevant activities in one or more Member States and not be controlled by a third country or a third country entity.

The tender documents indicate that the opportunity is not marked as suitable for small and medium sized enterprises as a standalone classification. This does not necessarily prohibit SME participation. SMEs may potentially participate as part of a consortium, as a subcontractor or as an entity providing capacity, provided that the tenderer satisfies the applicable conditions and remains responsible for contract performance.

The documents provide templates for sole tenderers, joint bidders, subcontractors and entities whose capacities are relied upon. A consortium must designate a group coordinator or prime contractor. The consortium members are expected to grant the coordinator authority to sign procurement documents, act as the single point of contact, sign the contract if awarded, issue invoices and coordinate performance.

Joint tender members are expected to be jointly and severally liable towards EUSPA for performance of the contract. This is a significant legal and financial consideration when deciding whether to bid as a consortium.

The use of subcontractors and external capacity providers must be disclosed in the prescribed forms. A subcontractor letter of intent must describe the resources to be provided, the performance to be delivered and the estimated percentage of the total contract value to be subcontracted. An entity whose capacity is relied upon must describe the competence, resources or other capacity that will be made available.

Core eligibility and exclusion conditions

Each participant must complete the required declaration of honour and provide information concerning its legal identity, registration, VAT status, management and authorised representatives. The declaration covers exclusion grounds relating to insolvency, unpaid taxes or social security contributions, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, criminal organisations, money laundering, terrorism, trafficking, irregularities, serious contractual deficiencies, circumvention of legal obligations and obstruction of investigations or audits.

Participants must also confirm that information provided is accurate, that competition has not been distorted through prior involvement in preparing the procurement documents and that the participant is not subject to a European Commission decision prohibiting contract award because of foreign subsidies distorting the internal market.

The procurement requires compliance with EU restrictive measures and sanctions requirements. Applicants should screen the tenderer, its owners, controlling persons, management, employees and relevant subcontractors before submission and maintain evidence supporting the declarations.

Where an exclusion situation is declared, the tenderer may need to demonstrate remedial measures, compensation or redress, payment of relevant fines or taxes and organisational measures designed to prevent recurrence. EUSPA may require replacement of an excluded subcontractor or capacity provider.

Selection and capacity requirements

The selection assessment distinguishes between criteria applying to the tenderer as a whole and criteria applying individually to each participating entity. The tenderer as a whole must demonstrate the required economic and financial capacity and the required technical and professional capacity. Each participating entity must satisfy the applicable legal, regulatory and security capacity requirements.

The financial capacity template requests financial information for the last three certified financial years. It includes own funds, capital, current assets, current liabilities, long term liabilities, total liabilities, turnover, depreciation and amortisation, operating profit and profit or loss for the year.

The financial assessment model considers whether the following indicators are positive or meet the stated thresholds for at least two periods: own funds, retained earnings, working capital, gross operating surplus, profit or loss, self financing capacity, financial independence, indebtedness, debt coverage and profitability.

Failure to meet an indicator does not necessarily provide the complete outcome of the assessment. The financial template states that EUSPA may request clarifications and conduct a global assessment of economic and financial capacity. Nevertheless, applicants should prepare audited financial statements and explanations for any weak ratios, losses, unusual liabilities, restructuring, parent support or reliance on consortium capacity.

Applicants should also demonstrate relevant technical and professional capability for platform requirements definition, system architecture, software development, integration, verification, operational validation, space traffic coordination and secure service delivery. The detailed technical selection criterion is contained in the tender specifications and should be mapped explicitly in a compliance matrix.

Security, confidentiality and information handling

The documents indicate that the procurement may involve sensitive non classified information and EU classified information. Participants involved in activities requiring handling of EU classified information must satisfy the applicable security capacity requirements. The reinforced non disclosure undertaking refers to handling EUCI at RESTREINT UE or EU RESTRICTED level and requires an appropriately accredited communication and information system where applicable.

Applicants should identify in advance which legal entities, personnel, subcontractors, facilities and information systems will access sensitive or classified material. Security responsibilities, personnel clearance requirements, facility arrangements, information system accreditation and secure communications should be addressed in the bid rather than treated as post award matters.

The non disclosure undertaking imposes strict limits on use, copying, distribution and disclosure of proprietary information. It also requires need to know access, equivalent obligations for receiving persons and notification of unauthorised use or disclosure. The stated confidentiality period is ten years from signature or, where applicable, seven years from the end or expiry of the contractual commitment, subject to the terms of the undertaking.

Intellectual property and data considerations

The tender package includes declarations concerning background intellectual property rights and foreground intellectual property rights. Applicants should identify pre existing software, algorithms, databases, models, technical documentation, licences and third party rights that will be used in the solution. Any restrictions that could affect EUSPA ownership, use, modification, maintenance, transfer or operational continuity should be disclosed and managed in the tender.

The contract package also includes deliverable acceptance, contractor compliance, security and intellectual property related declarations. The successful contractor should expect formal acceptance procedures and should ensure that each deliverable is traceable to the applicable requirement, verification evidence and acceptance condition.

Award methodology

The award method is best price quality ratio. The available procurement metadata indicates a price weighting of 70 percent and a quality weighting of 30 percent. The detailed scoring rules, subcriteria, thresholds and evaluation method must be taken from the tender specifications and should be reflected in the structure of the technical offer.

A competitive bid should not focus solely on minimising price. It should demonstrate credible delivery sequencing, clear governance, experienced key personnel, robust requirements management, secure architecture, integration and verification discipline, operational readiness, risk management and a realistic warranty and handover approach.

Duration, milestones and delivery planning

The maximum contract duration is 30 months. The work package structure suggests a progression from mobilisation and project management through user needs, requirements, design, development, integration, verification, operational validation, rules of the road assessment, warranty and handover.

The tenderer should provide an integrated implementation plan showing dependencies, critical path, staffing levels, decision gates, technical reviews, test campaigns, operational validation, acceptance evidence, security activities, training or knowledge transfer if required and handover arrangements. The plan should be consistent with the fixed price and the proposed person day allocation.

Submission requirements and practical compliance

Tenders must be submitted electronically using the submission address specified in the Funding and Tenders Portal. An EU Login account is required for electronic submission, questions and access to the eProcurement functionality. The organisation should be registered in the Participant Register and have a valid Participant Identification Code before submission.

The tender should be signed by an authorised representative and use the forms supplied in the procurement package. The document set includes the invitation to tender, tender specifications, identification sheet, declaration of honour, joint bidding power of attorney, subcontractor and capacity provider letters, financial statements, financial proposal, non disclosure undertaking, participation conditions, statistical reporting, statement of compliance, terms of reference, AI system risk classification form and draft contract documentation.

The tender validity period is nine months from the final submission date. Submission preparation costs are borne by the tenderer and are not reimbursed. The tenderer must keep the tender confidential until the opening and should avoid informal contacts with the contracting authority except through the permitted channels and procedures.

The portal guidance indicates that electronic submission systems impose technical restrictions on file size, attachment naming, supported formats and the number of files. Tenderers should complete a technical upload and validation check well before the deadline and retain the electronic submission receipt. Draft submissions can generally be edited before the deadline, but the final submission must be validated successfully before the time limit expires.

Recommended bid preparation approach

Applicants should complete the following activities in sequence:

Main applicant risks

Overall assessment

This is a specialised, strategically significant EU services procurement with a moderate contract value of €2,000,000 and a substantial maximum implementation period of 30 months. It is most suitable for an established space, engineering or technology organisation, or a consortium combining platform engineering, space traffic coordination, operational service, cybersecurity and EU procurement capability.

The opportunity is commercially attractive for organisations with reusable technical assets and demonstrable experience in secure mission or space systems, but the fixed price model, security obligations, financial capacity assessment, EU access conditions and joint liability provisions create material bid preparation requirements. The strongest tenders are likely to be those that demonstrate a low risk path from requirements definition through verified operational capability and sustainable handover.

Applicants should rely on the final tender specifications, terms of reference, participation conditions and draft contract as the controlling documents. Any discrepancy between summary information and the procurement documents should be resolved in favour of the formally issued tender documents and official clarifications.

Official sources

The Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity page is the authoritative location for the contract notice, submission function, procurement documents and official questions and answers 3.