Please read carefully the following esa-star terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) before registering on and using esa-star, the European Space Agency’s corporate application supporting the tendering process and the management of industry data.

These Terms and Conditions are released by the European Space Agency, an international intergovernmental organisation governed by its Convention, having its headquarters at 24 rue du Général Bertrand, 75007, Paris, France (“ ESA ” or “ the Agency ”).

The use of esa-star is governed by the following Terms and Conditions, which constitute an agreement between the legal entity identified by the ESA Entity Code (“User”) and the European Space Agency.

Any individual acting on behalf of a legal entity in esa-star is responsible for ensuring that he/she has the authority to bind the entity to these Terms and Conditions.

By submitting the registration details or using esa-star, the User accepts:

  a) these Terms and Conditions including any future modifications to them;

  b) the ESA Personal Data Protection Framework and the Privacy Notice and Consent Form available on esa-star at   https://esastar-emr.sso.esa.int/Account/DprList

ESA  may  issue instructions from time to time intended to improve the security of esa-star. The User agrees to comply with those instructions.

Nothing in or relating to the present Terms and Conditions shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of ESA.

Purpose of esa-star

esa-star enables the User to: 

1. register a legal entity and update the entity registration;
2. view tender documentation and information;
3. download tender documentation electronically via the internet;
4. upload tender proposals electronically via the internet;
5. access and use additional ancillary services complementing Users' registration information and/or allowing Users to team up with other economic operators;
6. publish opportunities for students offered by the economic operator in the esa-match module (Student Opportunities in Industry).

Registration on esa-star

To be eligible to register as User of esa-star, a mandatory condition to have access to its functionalities, the User must complete the registration questionnaire and submit it for validation. The presence of any of the exclusion grounds stated in Article 18 of the European Space Agency Procurement Regulations ESA/REG/001 ESA Procurement Regulations and related Implemented Instructions (“ESA Procurement Regulations”), in its latest version, may result in the registration not being validated and eventually suspended or terminated. The ESA Procurement Regulations are available at: https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Law_at_ESA/Highlights_of_ESA_rules_and_regulations

Upon validation, the User will receive its account login credentials via email.  The User is solely responsible for protecting the confidentiality of its credentials, and solely liable for any harm resulting from disclosing them or allowing their disclosure.  The User is also responsible for all use of the esa-star account upon registration and may be held liable for any use in violation to these Terms and Conditions or prejudicial to ESA or third parties. The User must notify ESA immediately in the event of suspected or real unauthorized use of, or access to, the User’s account in esa-star.

Protected content

Change, suspension or discontinuance of the use of esa-star

ESA may change, suspend or discontinue the use of esa-star, of the User’s account or of any feature thereof at any time, without prior notice, and shall have no liability to the User for such change, suspension or discontinuance. The User may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to esa-star by any means. In the event that the change or discontinuance affects the User’s timely submission of a tender proposal to a tendering activity to which the User intends to participate in, the User may contact the ESA Contracts Officer identified in the respective tendering activity before the closing date of the bidding period in order to enquire over its eventual participation. Participation cannot be guaranteed by the Agency. 

Disclaimers and limitation of liability

1. ESA shall have no obligation, liability or responsibility towards the User for:
1. all costs and other expenses to be incurred by the User in connection with the registration on esa-star; 
2. any claim relating to the registration on and the activities carried out using esa-star;
3. any damage caused or sustained by any of the Users, including any damage caused to third parties as a consequence of, or during the, registration on esa-star and/or the use of esa-star;
4. any force majeure event;
5. any User’s content which is late, incomplete, illegible, lost or otherwise not received;
6. the use of esa-star in violation to these Terms and Conditions;
7. data (including personal data) that may be filled by the User either intentionally or accidentally in the fields publicly visible which are listed in the esa-star Registration User Manual for Entity Users.
2. Notwithstanding  ESA’s efforts to ensure that esa-star is secure, the User acknowledges that all electronic data transfers are potentially susceptible to interception by others. 
3. The User is solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all the information and documentation provided to ESA while registering on or using esa-star including  its additional ancillary services .
4. Whilst  every  effort is made to ensure that information presented in esa-star is correct and up to date, ESA provides it without any warranty, expressed or implied.  ESA does not warrant the accuracy of information provided via  esa-star  by external sources and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such data.
5. esa-star may contain links and references to third-party websites or other resources. These are provided for the User’s convenience only.  The third-party websites will have their own terms and conditions.  ESA makes no warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, availability or content of information, text, graphics, software that are not under the 'esa.int' domain.  The User is solely responsible for any access to, use of and /or reliance upon such resources and ESA disclaims all liability arising therefrom.
6. The User acknowledges that ESA is not responsible for (a) loss of tender proposals, clarification requests, documents and/or other information in transit from the User to ESA while using esa-star; and (b) incorrectly assessing a tender proposal due to inaccurate or incomplete documentation or information provided by the User.
7. The User expressly acknowledges and agrees that any and all use of esa-star is at its sole risk.  ESA  does not warrant that access to and use of esa-star will be free from interruptions or free from errors. ESA does not make any warranty as of the results that may be obtained from the use of esa-star. The User waives and discharges any and all claims against ESA arising out of related access or lack thereof. 
8. Neither ESA nor any other party involved in creating, producing or delivering of  esa-star  shall be liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages arising out of the User’s access to, or use of,  esa-star .

Indemnification

The User agrees to defend at its own expense, indemnify and to hold ESA harmless from any claim or demand, made by any third party due to or arising out of content the User submits or makes available on or through esa-star, the User’s use of esa-star, the User’s breach of these Terms and Conditions or the User’s infringement of any rights of a third party.

Cookies

Cookies are small bits of data that a website may send to the browser on the User’s device, for instance mobile device or computer, upon a visit to the website. Cookies may allow a website to recognise an individual’s device and store some information about the User.  If a  User  does not wish to receive a cookie, or if a User wishes the browser to be notified when receiving a cookie, the User may use the option in the web browser to disable cookies. However, if the User disables all cookies, it might not be possible to take advantage of all the features available on this website.    For  further  information regarding the use of cookies on esa-star, please refer to our  Cookies Notice

Compliance with laws and regulations

The User must observe all local, regional, national, and international laws, orders, directives, ordinances, treaties, rules and regulations which may apply to the User in connection with all aspects of the registration on, and use of, esa-star. The User is solely responsible for acquiring the appropriate licenses, waivers, or permits from the applicable regulatory bodies or other applicable third parties. ESA shall in no way be responsible for providing the User any advice or counsel, legal or otherwise, with regard thereto.

Solicitation package of tendering activities

In addition to these Terms and Conditions, each tendering activity available on esa-star, in whatever form (e.g. Invitation to Tender, Request for Proposal/Quotation, Call for Proposals), shall be governed by the Agency’s applicable procurement rules as specified in the documents belonging to the solicitation package of each tendering activity.   

Settlement of disputes

Except for personal data matters or incidents for which the ESA Framework on Personal Data Protection ( https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Law_at_ESA/Highlights_of_ESA_rules_and_regulations )   shall apply and for which the ESA Data Protection Supervisory Authority shall have exclusive jurisdiction, any dispute in connection with or arising out of the registration on esa-star or participation in a tendering activity through esa-star will be dealt with according to the provisions of the ESA Procurement Regulations. No other remedies will be available to the User. 

Changes to the esa-star Terms and Conditions 

ESA reserves the right, at its discretion, to make changes to the present Terms and Conditions at any time. They will come into effect immediately when the updated esa-star Terms and Conditions are posted on esa-star, unless otherwise stated. The User’s use of the esa-star, or continued use following any changes or modifications of these Terms and Conditions, will constitute a binding acceptance by the User of such changes or modifications.

Notices

ESA may give any notice, including and not limited to replies to clarification requests regarding tendering activities or any other type of communication to the User:

 (a)  by email to the most recent email address that the User has notified to ESA via esa-star; or

 (b)  by making the notice available on esa-star.

Any notice given by ESA is deemed given:

 (c)   at the time when an email is sent by ESA; or

 (d)   on making the notice available on esa-star for display to the User.