- Starion España S.L.U. is leading a consortium to redesign the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Science Directorate online platforms SciTech and Cosmos in a project named ‘Platform Redesign of Science’.
- The consortium will deliver a fully functional, production-ready website portal for public access that is fully integrated into ESA’s infrastructure and meets technical, content and usability standards.
- The website will preserve interoperability with existing scientific web services linked through both platforms, ensuring seamless access to all the relevant information, science archives and data tools.
A Starion-led consortium has recently been awarded a contract for the Platform Redesign of Science (PRoS) of ESA’s Science Directorate online platform SciTech, which is mainly used by the public, with Cosmos, the portal for scientific users of ESA’s Science Directorate’s missions. The SciTech platform currently hosts over 40,000 pages and articles, 98,000 documents and 127 sites.
Four distinct stakeholder groups have been outlined: users, content owners and collaborators, ESA’s science programmatic IT team and content editors. Public users typically visit the existing platform for summaries and media, while researchers and students rely on it for access to scientific data, tools and documentation. This dual requirement will be preserved and enhanced as the new platform for SciTech and Cosmos evolves and offers a more versatile data experience.
The new portal will provide a redesigned website with a modern structure and architecture, with content adapted and simplified for clarity. The consortium will classify information for each scientific domain, while ensuring the integrity and security of the data remains preserved.
Silvia de Castro Garcia, Managing Director of Starion, said: “Starion has a wealth of experience in enabling data to be exploited. Building this online platform is a perfect way for us to help end-users view and/or utilise important scientific data. To meet the needs of the four defined user roles, the Starion-led consortium will implement a role-based web page structure, ensuring that each user type has access tailored to their needs. From a technical perspective, the platform will be designed to make sure the data will integrate seamlessly with ESA’s existing infrastructure and support systems.”
Public users will benefit from a user-friendly interface with intuitive navigation and access to both general and scientific content, while researchers and students will be able to securely access datasets and tools. Content owners and collaborators will have editing rights limited to their mission areas, supported by collaborative workflows, version control and approval mechanisms to maintain content accuracy and traceability.
The Science Programmatic IT team will have administrative access to manage backend/frontend modules and respond to support requests via the ticketing system. Content editors will use intuitive tools and templates to maintain non-mission content with consistent branding. To ensure the content effectively connects with its target audiences – both the general public and mission collaborators – the consortium will adapt and reframe existing materials to enhance clarity, engagement, and relevance. Storytelling techniques will be integrated to showcase scientific milestones, human impact and collaborative accomplishments.
This overall access approach will ensure a scalable, secure, user-centric platform that will support both public engagement and scientific collaboration.
Consortium partners include Eversis sp. z o.o, (Poland), Starion Deutschland GmbH (Germany) and Nexova Cyber SA (Belgium), with the contract lasting for 18 months. The project commenced in December 2025.
Image: Stephan’s Quintet; James Webb Space telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
