Past satellite missions used many commercial parts and demonstrated that such components can work in space and in some cases for several years although they were not designed for space. Middle of 2015 a feasibility study was conducted, where SPECTRUM evaluated the components used in different satellites and identified the most used technologies and components including main characteristics. The knowledge won in this study was the basis for the edition of the first Space-COTS catalogue. The aim of this catalogue is to list the major quantity of active and passive electronic, electric, and electro-mechanic parts covering almost all the space mission needs. Satellite engineers get a list of Hi-Rel components that they have to take for any design. Space-COTS will offer a broader selection of components from different manufacturers. More details about Space-COTS are published in the community portal “space-cots.com”.
Space-COTS will be tested and qualified in different levels, depending of the qualification deepness it looks as follow:
- Class A: Full screening test
- Class B: TID and SEE test
- Class C: TID test
These classes use as reference ESA, NASA and ISO Standards. The more intensive the test higher the cost of the qualified devices and longer the test duration. With a new qualification concept the qualification costs by Space-COTS are extremely reduced.
The Space-COTS catalogue is classified in component groups. Each group represents a component type. Following groups are defined:
- Diodes
- Transistors
- FET’s
- Drivers
- DC/DC
- Voltage Regulators
- OPAMP’s
- Comparator
- Opto Parts
- Sensors
- Image Sensors
- ADC
- DAC
- Logic Devices
- Microcontroller
- Memories
- FPGA’s
- Battery Charger
Space-COTS will be used in all space mission and comply with the requirements of the most exigent missions like GEO and deep space missions.
It is possible to upgrade commercial products with Space-COTS in order to reach a space level in a short time. Set of components are recommended for such enterprises. With the set of components is possible to start a mass production of any hardware device.