ESA position and activities related to COTS Usage in Space

ABSTRACT

This presentation will illustrate the present ESA position on COTS as summarized by the latest issue of the ESA COTS guidelines. It will also provide some information on the latest Agency activities on COTS and their relevant outcome.

In particular, the link between the ESA mission classification (presented in detail in the afternoon of the first day) and the relevant Criticality Classes (CC) at the equipment level when COTS components are used. Such an approach is documented in the ESA COTS Guidelines. It identifies applications where reliability is paramount and requires the application of normative standards (CC Q0), and others where some risk can be taken to support innovative solutions (CC Q1 and Q2).

The application boundaries for the Criticality Classes (CC) at the equipment level for COTS components will be illustrated and justified.

On the other side, the presentation will provide the main outcome of several activities performed internally on COTS:

Speaker: Ferdinando Tonicello – ESA

Electrical Department TEC-E, ESA-ESTEC

Electrical Lead Engineer
Electrical Department TEC-E
European Space Agency

F. Tonicello joined ESA in 1997 after a relevant industrial experience.
He is an Electrical Lead Engineer (LE) in ESTEC since 2021, after having covered a power conditioning engineer position, being the Power Management and Distribution (PMD) section head for about 12 years, and being nominated PMD Lead Engineer in 2015.
In the last years, he has been active in the ESA activities relevant to COTS EEE components, being also the convenor of the group that prepared the relevant ESA COTS guidelines.
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