Why Is Standardization in Space Technology so Important
Part 3 in a Series of articles about Why Getting in Space Takes so Long (And Is so Expensive)
By Dr. Diego Casadei, Head of Space R&D at Cosylab
In the previous sections (Part 1 and Part 2), we have seen why it is so tricky to design, develop, test, and even deliver a space instrument. The typically long project duration and the relatively high cost arise from the complexity coming from the need to guaranteeing the maximum quality, hence the minimum risk for the mission.
Designing and developing for critical situations
Design and development must account for very stringent limitations in mass, volume, power, bandwidth, still achieving robust solutions requiring no in-situ intervention from the launch onward. Testing and verification must prove beyond any doubt that the equipment is going to withstand all critical situations and still remain capable of delivering value through full functionality for the entire mission duration. The approach is so conservative that, most often, if no accident happens early on, a satellite will continue working well beyond the nominal mission duration, through one or more “extended mission” phases that are approved and financed from time to time.
Why is standardization in Space Technology so important?
During the lifetime of each project, all these activities produce a large amount of information. Thus, all space agencies are collecting and organizing knowledge from their missions, from design to manufacturing (e.g. by keeping a list of allowed components, processes, and materials), from testing to mission records. New projects are supposed to know all relevant previous information and are required to be compliant with various recommendations, in addition to the mission specific requirements.
Two important knowledge bases are the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) and the NASA Technical Standards System (NTSS).
I must admit that, at least for ESA and NASA, the historical records are so big that one cannot pretend to know all of them.
In practice, we focus on what is declared as an applicable requirement and try to follow all known recommendations, but also rely on the reviews performed on the space agency side, where experts exist, who can find actual or potential issues in all fields.
Anyway, for space projects performed in Europe, the ECSS is a “must”: everybody should at least get a feeling about the ECSS recommendations (which in practice are strict rules, don’t be fooled by the terminology!) concerning her/his own field of competence. Both ECSS and NTSS are organized per discipline, with many books per discipline.
ECSS
- Engineering
- Many books on practically all technical subjects
- Management
- Project management á la ESA
- Product Assurance
- Many books on practically all technical subjects
- General and System Documentation
- Space debris mitigation requirements
- ECSS Applicability Requirement Matrix (EARM) — Important!
NTSS
- Documentation and Configuration
- Systems Engineering and Integration, Aerospace Environments, Celestial Mechanics
- Computer Systems, Software, Information Systems
- Human Factors and Health
- Electrical and Electronics Systems, Avionics/Control Systems, Optics
- Structures/Mechanical Systems, Fluid Dynamics, Thermal, Propulsion, Aerodynamics
- Materials and Processes, Parts
- System and Subsystem Test, Analysis, Modelling, Evaluation
- Safety, Quality, Reliability, Maintainability
- Operations, Command, Control, Telemetry/Data Systems, Communications
So now you know where to look at, in case you want more details on specific subjects. If you look for your next “mission impossible”, then a space project might give you enough adrenaline (or headache :) ) for quite some time.
Don’t miss the next story!
About the author
Diego Casadei has a Ph.D. in Physics and long experience in space instrumentation. He worked on two cosmic-ray detectors, AMS-01 (flown on board the NASA shuttle Discovery in 1998) and AMS-02 (installed on the International Space Station in 2011), and two X-ray telescopes, STIX (on board ESA Solar Orbiter mission, to be launched in 2020) and MiSolFA (a very compact instrument under development). His contributions range from detector R&D to the design of trigger and data acquisition systems, from instrument characterization to space qualification, from simulations to performance studies. He managed tasks of increasing complexity, with recent roles of technical coordinator for STIX and project coordinator for MiSolFA. Currently, he is the Head of Space R&D at Cosylab.
Article References:
[5] http://ecss.nl/
[6] https://standards.nasa.gov/nasa-technical-standards
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