Data Mining in the CDF
Having operated for almost 10 years and completed about 100 pre-phase A and phase A assessment studies and reviews of potential ESA missions, it was logical that someone would come and ask us to use the CDF accumulated information and experience to determine trends in technology to enable future space applications.
To this end, Tiago Soares, a Portuguese Trainee working in the CDF, undertook a research and data mining activity that resulted in him presenting a paper - 'Perspective on Future Missions Requirements for Pyrotechnic Devices' at the 7th ESA / CNES International Workshop on Space Pyrotechnics, held at ESTEC in September 2008.
The paper identified current trends for future ESA missions in mechanisms and pyrotechnics by listing and categorizing the requirements of interest for pyrotechnic devices in the latest design studies performed in the CDF.
The paper was well received and the ability to use past CDF studies to show trends and perform statistical assessment of specific components and related technologies has generated interest in various technical areas within ESA and also in European Industry.
A study is ongoing to link the CDF data base to a potential catalogue of ESA products.
