Guidelines for using COTS Components
- Posted by Ferdinando Tonicello
- On December 3, 2019
- 0
This presentation address the guidelines for COTS components and equipment or subsystems of different criticality categories for ESA.
WHY COTS COMPONENTS AND MODULES IN SPACE?
- Cost advantage, only for large volumes or low reliability/low radiation application where important risks might be taken.
- Performance advantage not obtainable by classical Hi-Rel components
- Lack of Hi-Rel components for performing that function
- Availability of production capability of supply chain for terrestrial use
- Shorter lead times
ESA’s Initiative on COTS
Output
- Interim report to the ESA Executive Board (presented 29 Oct 2019) with set of recommendations for the use of COTS in future Agency programmes/“new space”, plus a roadmap/ required next steps to achieve them
- Final report to the ESA Executive Board (to be prepared by Q1 2020)
Who’s involved
WG tasks
WG1
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- Definition of the COTS EEE components perimeter for space.
- What is available/industrial landscape? – Normative landscape?
- Where do we use COTS today?
- How do we use COTS today?
- Current best practices and lessons learned.
WG 2/3
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- Perform the classification of the COTS component categories according to (applications) risk classes;
- Identify procurement, screening, application and test methods for COTS components and modules in the different application risk classes;
- Identify a roadmap of the necessary R&D (and other) activities to finalise the proposed COTS components and modules approach.
WG 2/3 finalised a TN
- Set of guidelines and not requirements
- Balanced approach especially between reliability and radiation performances, according to a progressive scheme from higher to less risk taking
- Addressing the issue of small procurement lots and relevant lot homogeneity issues
- Addressing the application of COTS parts in modules, equipment or subsystems of different criticality categories for ESA institutional missions.
Projected advantage: on a given mission, different criticality categories can appear, depending on the nature of the considered modules, equipment or subsystem.
Example: essential vs experimental or “expendable” item.
Classification of criticality categories
Critical aspects coverage
For each criticality category Q2, Q1, Q0 the following aspects are addressed:
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- Perimeter of application
- Methods to resolve the critical points relevant to
- RAMS (Safety, dependability, FMECA…)
- Material and processes
- EEE components general issues
- Radiation (TID, TNID, SEE)
- Economy of scale/supply chain
- Application, including
approaches for data sheets review, electrical analyses needs, mitigation techniques, reference application circuits, modules
Recommended activities to finalize the proposed COTS components and modules approach
- Update of ECSS-Q-ST-60-13C
- This activity is running, ESA participates through TEC-QES (Requirements and Standards) and TEC-EDC (EEE components).
- Identification of safe operation factors for criticality categories Q2 and Q1
- Proposed ESA focal points: TEC-QEC (radiation), TEC-EDC (EEE components).
- COTS components and modules, information gathering
- Proposed ESA focal points: TEC-QEC (radiation), TEC-EDC (EEE components).
- Reference application circuits
- Proposed ESA focal points: TEC-ED (digital components), TEC-EPM (power and analogue components)
- New test methods for modules and boards
- Proposed ESA focal points: TEC-QEC (radiation) and TEC-EDC (EEE components)
- Lead free recommendations
- Proposed ESA focal points: TEC-MSP (Materials & Processes), TEC-EDC (EEE components), TEC-QEE (Materials’ Physics & Chemistry)
- Good practices for Radiation
- Proposed ESA focal point: TEC-EPS (Space Environment and Effects)
After working in space industry for 9 years, he joined ESA in 1997. He has been working in power management and distribution domain for various ESA programmes and as a technical officer in a number of ESA R&D activities.
Since 2003, he is responsible of the Power Conditioning Section and since 2011, of the Power Management and Distribution Section in the Power Systems Division in ESA. In 2015, he was appointed Power Management and Distribution Lead Engineer in the Electrical Department (TEC-E).
His experience on component comes from being ESA technical officer of a number of power devices and mixed ASIC development, and in particular his COTS experience comes from some pioneering work on comparative development of power conversion stages based on Hi-Rel versus commercial components.
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