Preamble
MEGAHIT is funded by the European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7).
Since the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union has a mandate to coordinate space activities in Europe, to define European Space Policy, including space exploration, to create a European space programme.
The Horizon 2020 programme, starting in 2014, is the next Research and Technological programme of the Union. With a proposed average annual budget of about 240m€ from 2014 to 2020 for industrial leadership in space, Horizon 2020 will implement projects with a multi-annual structured agenda enabling the realisation of ambitious technology demonstrations (“strategic research clusters”)
Advanced propulsion and novel power sources have been identified among the areas needing concrete actions, notably at the Brussels conference in 2010
MEGAHIT is a supporting action, in preparation of the Horizon 2020 programme. Its objective is to propose specific actions in the field of high power electric generation and propulsion.
Objectives
Programmme H2020 roadmap
Building a road-map for nuclear electric in-space propulsion activities within the EC Horizon 2020 programme is the first objective of MEGAHIT.
Nuclear Electric Space Propulsion is seen and identified as a key enabling technology for future international space exploration missions. Space exploration is one of Europe’s priorities and development of capabilities in this field will allow Europe to play a major role among the space faring nations in the future. The EC H2020 programme is a unique opportunity for developing these capabilities.
European Nuclear Space power Community
Beyond this road-mapping, MEGAHIT has a second objective which is of importance:to create a European community including Russian partners around Nuclear Space Power systems. This second objective implies the involvement of European and Russian stakeholders – Research, Industry and Agencies - in the road-mapping. It fully drives the MEGAHIT’s approach.
Analysis of international Cooperation
Beyond Europe and Russia, represented by the Consortium, Nuclear in-Space Propulsion is addressed by the other space faring nations. Analysis of the potential collaboration opportunities at international level is also a further important objective of MEGAHIT.
