Organisation · Standards & Organisations
ECSS (European Cooperation for Space Standardization)
European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS): the body, formed by the European Space Agency, national agencies and industry, that publishes the standards used on European space projects, including product assurance rules for electronic components.
- Also known as
- European Cooperation for Space Standardization
- Type
- Organisation
- Domain
- Standards & Organisations, Standards bodies
Overview
The ECSS (European Cooperation for Space Standardization) is the initiative, set up in 1994 by the European Space Agency, national space agencies and the European space industry, that develops a single, coherent set of standards for European space projects. Its standards cover project management, engineering, product assurance and space sustainability, from design and development to testing and qualification of hardware and software. For chip suppliers, its product assurance rules for electronic components shape what it takes for a part to fly on a European mission.
How it works
ECSS documents are drafted by working groups of experts from agencies and industry, reviewed and then put to the ECSS member bodies for a vote before publication. ESA's Requirements and Standards section acts as the central secretariat, and an ECSS Technical Authority meets several times a year to prioritise new standards and updates. The documents are made freely available, and ESA bases its own list of approved standards for ESA projects largely on published ECSS standards.
The system is divided into branches, each with a letter: M for project management, E for engineering, Q for product assurance and U for space sustainability, alongside branches for policy, system description and document management. Document names follow the pattern ECSS-branch-type-number, where ST marks a standard with verifiable requirements and HB a non-normative handbook. The Q-60 discipline covers electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) components and Q-80 software product assurance.
ECSS standards are not law. They become binding on a project when a contract makes them applicable, usually with tailoring to suit the mission. ECSS works alongside the European Space Components Coordination (ESCC), founded in 2002, which maintains the ESCC specification system, the European Preferred Parts List and the Qualified Parts List for EEE parts, with ESA as qualification authority.
Examples
- A satellite prime contractor making ECSS product assurance standards applicable to its equipment suppliers through the contract, with agreed tailoring.
- An EEE parts engineer selecting a microcontroller from the ESCC Qualified Parts List for a European science mission.
- A commercial chip evaluated for radiation tolerance and reliability before approval for use on an ESA spacecraft.
- Flight software developed to the ECSS software product assurance requirements in the Q-80 discipline.
Related terms
Part of the Standards & Organisations glossary, with every term in the topic and the lifecycles, tools and standards that use them.
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