The European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) - the primary source of standards for the European Space Agency - has released version B of their system engineering standard. This 174 page revision is a significant expansion of the original 66 page version published in 1996. This document is free and available from the ECSS website.
James Martin
Chair, INCOSE Standards Committee
ECSS-E-10B "Space engineering - System engineering - Part 1: Requirements and process (18 November 2004)
Scope
The purpose of this Standard is to lead the actors of the “customer-system-supplier model” (as described in 4.1.2) through the development of systems (including hardware, software, man-in-the-loop, facilities and services) for space applications. It
specifies system engineering implementation requirements for space systems and space products development.
The objectives of this Standard are as follows:
- To assist in defining, performing, managing, and evaluating system engineering efforts to ensure that the programme has a firm organizational basis, able to minimize technical risk due to uncertain understanding of delegated technical responsibilities.
- To facilitate minimization of cost by defining essential system engineering tasks, their objectives and their organization.
- To incorporate the key aspects of the space standardization initiatives to improve capture requirements, implement multi-disciplinary team-work including suppliers, establish the requirements at an early stage in the process, focus on process control rather than inspection, and encourage overall risk management rather than risk avoidance.
When viewed from the perspective of a specific project context, the requirements specified in this Standard should be tailored to match the genuine requirements of a particular profile and circumstances of a project.
NOTE Tailoring is a process by which individual requirements of specifications, standards and related documents are evaluated and made applicable to a specific project, by selection and in some exceptional cases, modifications of existing or addition of new requirements. [ECSS-M-00-02A, Clause 3]
The series E set of standards deal with engineering. There is also a series M for Management and series Q for Quality.
- ECSS--E--00 Space engineering — Policy and principles
- ECSS--E--10 Part 2B* Space engineering — Verification
- ECSS--E--10 Part 4A* Space engineering – Interfaces control
- ECSS--E--10 Part 5 Space engineering – Functional analysis
- ECSS--E--10 Part 6A* Space engineering—Functional and technical specifications
- ECSS--E--10 Part 7* Space engineering — Product data exchange
- ECSS--E--10 Part 8* Space engineering – Value analysis
- ECSS--E--10 Part 9* Space engineering – Engineering database
- ECSS--E--10 Part 10* Space engineering – Logistics engineering
- ECSS--E--10 Part 11* Space engineering – Human factors for space environments
- ECSS--E--10 Part 12* Space engineering — Reference coordinate systems
- ECSS--E--10 Part 13* Space engineering – System modelling and simulation
- ECSS--E--10 Part 14 Space engineering – Engineering analytical mathematical model
- ECSS--E--10 Part 15A* Space engineering — Production interfaces
- ECSS--E--10 Part 17A* Space engineering — System engineering DRDs
- ECSS--E--10--03 Space engineering – Testing
- ECSS--E--10--04 Space engineering – Space environment
- ECSS--E--20 Space engineering – Electrics and electronics
- ECSS--E--70B* Space engineering – Ground systems and operations
* indicates those standards still under development