ISO 19683:2017

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 19683
First edition
2017-07
Space systems — Design qualification
and acceptance tests of small
spacecraft and units
Systèmes spatiaux — Qualification de la conception et essais de
réception des petits véhicules spatiaux
Reference number
©
ISO 2017
© ISO 2017, Published in Switzerland
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ii © ISO 2017 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .vii
Introduction .viii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 2
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Abbreviated terms . 3
5 General requirements . 4
5.1 Tailoring . 4
5.2 Qualification test . 4
5.3 Acceptance test . 4
5.4 Proto-flight test . 4
5.5 Retest . 4
5.6 Test documentation . 4
5.6.1 Test plan, specification and procedure . 5
5.6.2 Test report . 5
5.6.3 Datasheet for unit test results . 6
5.7 Test conditions, tolerances and accuracies. 6
5.8 Functional test . 6
5.9 Design, verification and testing philosophy . 6
6 Satellite system tests . 7
6.1 Test items . 7
6.2 Test level and duration . 8
7 Unit tests . 8
7.1 Test items . 8
7.2 Test levels and duration .14
8 Test requirements .17
8.1 Electrical interface .17
8.1.1 Purpose of test .17
8.1.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .18
8.1.3 Test article configuration .18
8.1.4 Monitoring during test . .18
8.1.5 Test levels and duration .18
8.1.6 Test conditions and guidelines .18
8.2 Functional test .18
8.2.1 Purpose of test .18
8.2.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .18
8.2.3 Test article configuration .18
8.2.4 Monitoring during test . .18
8.2.5 Test levels and duration .18
8.2.6 Test conditions and guidelines .19
8.3 Mission test .19
8.3.1 Purpose of test .19
8.3.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .19
8.3.3 Test article configuration .19
8.3.4 Monitoring during test . .19
8.3.5 Test levels and duration .19
8.3.6 Test conditions and guidelines .19
8.4 Total Ionization Dose (TID) test .19
8.4.1 Purpose of test .19
8.4.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .20
8.4.3 Test article configuration .20
8.4.4 Monitoring during test . .20
8.4.5 Test levels and duration .20
8.4.6 Test conditions and guidelines .20
8.5 Single Event Effect (SEE) test .20
8.5.1 Purpose of test .20
8.5.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .20
8.5.3 Test article configuration .20
8.5.4 Monitoring during test . .21
8.5.5 Test levels and duration .21
8.5.6 Test conditions and guidelines .21
8.5.7 Test conditions and guidelines .21
8.6 Spacecraft Charging Induced Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) test .21
8.6.1 Purpose of test .21
8.6.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .21
8.6.3 Test article configuration .22
8.6.4 Monitoring during test . .22
8.6.5 Test levels and duration .22
8.6.6 Test conditions and guidelines .22
8.7 Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) test .22
8.7.1 Purpose of test .22
8.7.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .22
8.7.3 Test article configuration .22
8.7.4 Monitoring during test . .22
8.7.5 Test levels and duration .23
8.7.6 Test conditions and guidelines .23
8.8 Deployment test .23
8.8.1 Purpose of test .23
8.8.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .23
8.8.3 Test article configuration .23
8.8.4 Monitoring during test . .23
8.8.5 Test levels and duration .23
8.8.6 Test conditions and guidelines .23
8.9 Magnetic field test .24
8.10 Antenna pattern test .24
8.11 Alignment measurement .24
8.12 Physical property measurement.24
8.13 Launcher/Spacecraft interface test .24
8.14 Quasi-static load test.24
8.14.1 Purpose of test .24
8.14.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .24
8.14.3 Test article configuration .24
8.14.4 Monitoring during test . .24
8.14.5 Test levels and duration .24
8.14.6 Test conditions and guidelines .25
8.15 Modal survey .25
8.15.1 Purpose of test .25
8.15.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .25
8.15.3 Test article configuration .25
8.15.4 Monitoring during test . .25
8.15.5 Test levels and duration .25
8.15.6 Test conditions and guidelines .25
8.16 Sinusoidal vibration test .25
8.16.1 Purpose of test .25
8.16.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .25
8.16.3 Test article configuration .25
8.16.4 Monitoring during test . .26
8.16.5 Test levels and duration .26
8.16.6 Test conditions and guidelines .26
iv © ISO 2017 – All rights reserved

8.17 Random vibration test .26
8.17.1 Purpose of test .26
8.17.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .26
8.17.3 Test article configuration .26
8.17.4 Monitoring during test . .26
8.17.5 Test levels and duration .26
8.17.6 Test conditions and guidelines .26
8.18 Acoustic test .27
8.18.1 Purpose of test .27
8.18.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .27
8.18.3 Test article configuration .27
8.18.4 Monitoring during test . .27
8.18.5 Test levels and duration .27
8.18.6 Test conditions and guidelines .27
8.19 Shock test .27
8.19.1 Purpose of test .27
8.19.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .27
8.19.3 Test article configuration .27
8.19.4 Monitoring during test . .27
8.19.5 Test levels and duration .28
8.19.6 Test conditions and guidelines .28
8.20 Thermal balance test .28
8.20.1 Purpose of test .28
8.20.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .28
8.20.3 Test article configuration .28
8.20.4 Monitoring during test . .28
8.20.5 Test levels and duration .28
8.20.6 Test conditions and guidelines .28
8.21 Thermal vacuum test .29
8.21.1 Purpose of test .29
8.21.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .29
8.21.3 Test article configuration .29
8.21.4 Monitoring during test . .29
8.21.5 Test levels and duration .29
8.21.6 Test conditions and guidelines .29
8.22 Functional test in vacuum .30
8.22.1 Purpose of test .30
8.22.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .30
8.22.3 Test article configuration .30
8.22.4 Monitoring during test . .30
8.22.5 Test levels and duration .30
8.22.6 Test conditions and guidelines .30
8.23 Cold/Hot start test .30
8.23.1 Purpose of test .30
8.23.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .30
8.23.3 Test article configuration .31
8.23.4 Monitoring during test . .31
8.23.5 Test levels and duration .31
8.23.6 Test conditions and guidelines .31
8.24 Thermal cycle functional test .31
8.24.1 Purpose of test .31
8.24.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .31
8.24.3 Test article configuration .31
8.24.4 Monitoring during test . .32
8.24.5 Test levels and duration .32
8.24.6 Test conditions and guidelines .32
8.25 Thermal cycle endurance test .32
8.25.1 Purpose of test .32
8.25.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .32
8.25.3 Test article configuration .32
8.25.4 Monitoring during test . .32
8.25.5 Test levels and duration .33
8.25.6 Test conditions and guidelines .33
8.26 Pressure test .33
8.27 Leakage test .33
8.28 Microvibration test .33
8.28.1 Purpose of test .33
8.28.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .33
8.28.3 Test article configuration .33
8.28.4 Monitoring during test . .33
8.28.5 Test levels and duration .33
8.28.6 Test conditions and guidelines .34
8.29 Burn-in and wear-in test .34
8.30 End-to-end mission simulation .34
8.30.1 Purpose of test .34
8.30.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .34
8.30.3 Test article configuration .34
8.30.4 Monitoring during test . .34
8.30.5 Test levels and duration .34
8.30.6 Test conditions and guidelines .34
8.31 Bake out and outgas test .35
8.31.1 Purpose of test .35
8.31.2 Test facilities and setup as basic requirements .35
8.31.3 Test article configuration .35
8.31.4 Monitoring during test . .35
8.31.5 Test levels and duration .35
8.31.6 Test conditions and guidelines .35
8.32 Tailoring and waiver guides.36
Annex A (normative) Tailoring and waiver guides .37
Annex B (informative) Basis of test levels and duration .42
Annex C (informative) Design, verification and testing philosophy for small spacecrafts .45
Annex D (informative) Test selection logic flow .68
Annex E (informative) Environment stress screening and burn-in .80
Annex F (informative) Thermal vacuum or thermal cycle? .81
Bibliography .84
vi © ISO 2017 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see the following
URL: w w w . i s o .org/ iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 20, Aircraft and space vehicles,
Subcommittee SC 14, Space systems and operations.
Introduction
There is an increasing demand for small/micro/nano/pico satellite development and utilization
worldwide; yet, there is no clear and globally accepted definition of what is considered “small”, “micro”,
“nano” or “pico” satellites. These satellites are often built with emphasis on low cost and fast delivery.
They are characterized by extensive use of non-space-qualified commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) units.
For the sake of convenience, the term “small spacecraft” is used throughout this document as a generic
term to refer to these satellites.
A small spacecraft is a satellite that utilizes non-traditional risk-taking development and management
approaches to achieve low cost and fast delivery with a small number of team. To achieve these two
points, low cost and fast delivery, satellite design relies on the use of non-space-qualified commercial-
off-the-shelf (COTS) units, making satellite size inherently smaller. The design accepts a certain level of
risk associated with the use of COTS.
A certain set of tests is necessary to ensure the mission success of small spacecraft. Applying the same
test requirements and methods as those applied to traditional large/medium satellites, however, will
nullify the low-cost and fast-delivery advantages possessed by small spacecraft.
This document is meant to improve the reliability of small spacecraft, especially those with commercial
purpose, while maintaining the low-cost and fast-delivery nature of small spacecraft. This document
intends to promote worldwide trade of small spacecraft products by providing a minimum level of
assurance that a product made of non-space-qualified commercial-off-the-shelf parts and units can
work in space. This document also aims to serve as a testing guideline for those who intend to enter
satellite manufacturing through development of small spacecraft products.
viii © ISO 2017 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 19683:2017(E)
Space systems — Design qualification and acceptance tests
of small spacecraft and units
1 Scope
This document provides test methods and test requirements for design qualification and/or acceptance
of small spacecraft or units. It provides the minimum test requirements and test methods to qualify the
design and manufacturing methods of commercial small spacecraft and their units and to accept the
final products.
This document places emphasis on achieving reliability against infant mortality after satellite launch to
orbit while maintaining low cost and fast delivery.
This document is applied to satellites whose development methods are different from the ones used
for traditional satellites that have little room for risk tolerance, as shown in Figure 1. The scope of this
document encompasses different categories of small spacecraft, so-called mini-, micro, nano-, pico-
and femto-, as well as CubeSat, spacecraft. Therefore, for the sake of convenience, the term “small
spacecraft” is used throughout this document as a generic term.
This document includes CubeSat, as long as it is developed with the untraditional processes.
Figure 1 — Applicability of this document
This document does not cover satellite deployment mechanisms, such as POD, as the verification
requirements are defined in the Interface Control Document (ICD) with the launcher, such as ISO 26869.
This document does not cover software testing, although some tests such as functional test, mission
test and end-to-end test are inherently used to test the software installed in the hardware being tested.
General requirements and processes of satellite software testing can be found in various references,
such as ECSS-E-ST40.
This document does not cover requirements regarding safety nor debris mitigation. Appropriate
documents such as ISO 14620–1 or ISO 24113 can be referred to. Other common requirements for small
spacecraft can be found in Reference [14].
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 11221:2011, Space systems — Space solar panels — Spacecraft charging induced electrostatic
discharge test methods
ISO 14302, Space systems — Electromagnetic compatibility requirements
ISO 15864:2004, Space systems — General test methods for space craft, subsystems and units
ISO 17566:2011, Space systems — General test documentation
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http:// www .iso .org/ obp
3.1
flat-sat
table-sat
configuration where only units (3.4), sometimes bare circuit boards only, are laid out in atmosphere on
a table while not being mounted to the satellite structure
3.2
flight model
satelli
...