Small Spacecraft Community of Practice
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Small Satellites Demand Innovation in Reliability
Speaker: Harald Schone, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Webinar Wednesday, December 11, 2019
10:00AM-11:00AM Pacific Standard Time
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Abstract: SmallSats use predominantly commercial electronics and specialized custom miniaturized subsystems out of necessity to fit the space constraints and meet power efficiency targets. This poses a major challenge as the radiation and reliability information of commercial electronics is typically not available. The increased schedule pressure and customary low budgets makes a thorough analysis of each part and circuit impossible. Yet, the combination of part and circuit level mitigations, architectural considerations and operational changes can achieve a high level of reliability even if the individual components don’t meet the typical space grade pedigree. Such mitigation approaches are only implementable early in the concept and design phase where risk factors can be eliminated triggering entire new design cycles. For this reason, JPL is building in partnership with a number of universities, functional and fault model libraries for deepspace CubeSats, rovers and major electronic subsystems. We expect that those libraries enable the broader SmallSat community to build a model of their spacecraft within days, thereby facilitating an informed discussion of the risks, mitigation approaches, operational workarounds and system architectures.
Biosketch: Harald Schone is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Chief Technologist for Mission Assurance. He leads the Directorate’s strategic technology planning towards a 10-year vision of adapting to smaller missions, transitioning technology into JPL spacecraft and eliminating roadblocks to innovation. Prior to joining JPL, he led a technology development Branch at the Air Force Research Lab and oversaw the development of many space electronic components such as the Rad 750 processor. During his tenure, Harald served as a member to the advisory committee to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) chartered with a $250M upgrade to the nation’s remaining space electronic fabrication lines. He received his Doctorate in Atomic Physics from Heidelberg University and his Master’s from Frankfurt University in Nuclear Physics.
