When launching expensive mission-critical equipment and people into space, there is absolutely no room for failure of any component. Therefore, if you are an RF system designer working on an aerospace application, you must be sure you are selecting high-quality, high-reliability electronic components for all your designs. But do you have a process in place for this type of component selection? At Knowles Precision Devices, we know it can be a challenging to navigate component selection for aerospace applications as there are many combinations of standards and tests that can be performed to space-qualify parts.
We also know that if can be difficult to just fully understanding the terms space-qualified and space screening. For starters, the term space-qualified has a very specific meaning that not all vendors understand. In short, space-qualified parts have been designed, manufactured, and tested to meet the special electrical, mechanical, or environmental requirements for use in the launch and deployment of satellites or high-altitude flight systems. Parts screening on the other hand is a series of tests and inspections at the parts level that is intended to remove nonconforming and/or infant mortal parts to increase confidence in the parts selected for use.
Ensuring Reliability for Reliability of Your RF Filters
The space-qualification and screening process is something that must be understood by both RF component suppliers and aerospace companies. While the exact approach for how each part is qualified and screened will ultimately be determined by the customer, the component supplier should be able to work with customers to establish custom qualification and screening plans that can meet the level of testing required.
To provide a better idea of what is involved in these processes, our latest white paper, Ready for Launch: Understanding the Nuances of Space-Level Qualification and Screening of Filters, covers the following topics:
- Background information on the various standards that may dictate the requirements your components need to meet during space-qualification testing
- An overview of the many possibilities available to ensure components are space qualified and ready to meet your application needs
- An example of how to work with your vendors to qualify components for a space program
- Information on how Knowles Precision Devices can work with customers to perform a variety of space qualification testing in-house
