Selected Ideas

Outcome and Results

The OSIP campaign on COTS components covers one of the most challenging aspects of space electronics of the last few years, i.e. to understand how and when to use promising components for terrestrial application in space, profiting from the large availability, advanced performances and functionality and the cost advantages of COTS with respect to the traditional HiRel approach.

The campaign attracted 130 ideas, and 52 of them were invited to be matured into proposals. The ideas were on the overall COTS strategy, radiation, design mitigation techniques and reference designs, COTS testing and in-orbit data, material and processes. The campaign resulted in the kick off of 24 activities contracts, nine as Early Technology Development activities, twelve as studies, and three as co-sponsored research.

The campaign allowed a multi-disciplinary set of investigations to be able to use COTS components and modules in space, minimising the risk of their adoption. It covered a wide range of topics, from the overall strategy to COTS tests and in-orbit data, going through material and processes, radiation issues, reference designs and mitigation techniques. The preliminary outcome was presented at the margins of the February 2022 IPC and technical results in ACCEDE October 2022 Workshop on COTS Components for Space Applications.

Resources
    •    COTS topical cluster on activities.esa.int
    •    Campaign launch article on esa.int