Figure 1. The structure of ECSS
The European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) is an initiative established to develop a coherent, single set of user-friendly standards for use in all European space activities. In the autumn of 1993, several national space agencies in Europe, ESA and the European space industry joined forces to start developing the space standards.
The ECSS standards must improve industrial efficiency and competitiveness, and satisfy European and international clients. The standards will apply as needed to any party participating in the definition, development, manufacturing, verification or operation of any assembly, equipment, subsystem, system or service used for any space mission.
The European space business suffers because of the multiplicity of standards and requirements that the different space agencies in Europe are currently using. Although the agencies requirements are essentially similar, the impact of the differences in standards is serious and has led in particular to higher costs, lower effectiveness, a less competitive industry and potential errors. The situation is expected to remain unchanged until ECSS produces its standards at the end of 1995.
In 1988, in an attempt to improve the situation, Eurospace, an association representing the European space industry, asked the directors-general of ESA and CNES to standardise their organisations product assurance requirements. Several efforts were made to define the means of meeting this objective.
By 1993, the European space community was in a position to address the standardisation of space activities as a whole rather than just the product assurance aspects. Several national space agencies and industrial organisations joined forces to build a more comprehensive and coherent system of standards, based on a commercially oriented strategy. In the autumn of 1993, the partners signed the ECSS terms of reference which defines the framework and the basic rules of the system. The European space industry has therefore been fully involved with ECSS from the outset.
The move toward standardisation places Europe in phase with the United States where, in June 1994, the Secretary of Defense advised the Department of Defense to increase access to commercial, state-of-the-art technology and decrease, to the maximum extent practicable, reliance on military specifications and standards.
Today, standards are no longer considered to be just stacks of dusty papers containing unjustified requirements and constraints. Standardisation is generally viewed as a process that drives commercial viability and success. Successful companies recognise that developing and using standards is the path to remaining competitive and producing quality products.
ESA's Director General, J.-M. Luton, summarised well the importance of standards for the space business, in a meeting between ECSS and industry in October 1993. He stated that the time had come to harmonise existing space standards and to implement a system of common standards to enable the European space industry to become more efficient, more capable and more competitive in general. He stressed several points:
Globally accepted European and international standards can promote the development, manufacture and sale of high-quality space products, which are not only demanded by the domestic clients, but also meet the needs of international customers.
By abolishing the multiplicity of project requirements of the various partners in ECSS, and concentrating on a single set of standards - from which all generic requirements of future space projects would be derived - this initiative should drive an increase in industrial efficiency. This policy will generate more recurring products or services, at reduced cost with consistently high quality.
Standardisation is an important tool during all programme phases to both reduce costs and enhance quality and communication. The goal of the ECSS standardisation system is to minimise lifecycle costs while continually improving the quality, functional integrity and compatibility of all elements of a project. This will be achieved by applying common standards for hardware, software, information and all activities within a given project, and between different projects.
ECSS is now drafting standards for space projects and applications within the following categories:
The ECSS standards will apply as needed to any party participating in the definition, development, manufacturing, verification or operation of any assembly, equipment, subsystem, system or service used for the European element of any space mission.
All ECSS standards will be drafted, approved and published in English. Any ECSS participant wishing to translate, at its own expense, an ECSS standard into another language may do so provided that such intent is made known to the ECSS Secretariat. Such translated documents, however, are not part of the ECSS system. The ECSS Steering Board may, at its discretion, authorise translations of ECSS standards to be part of the ECSS system if a Participating Member commits to translate the relevant documents and to provide updated translations whenever the original document is revised.
Although not all ESA member agencies are represented in ECSS, all Member States supported the initiative through an ESA Council Resolution (ESA/C/XCIII/Res. 1 final, 23 June 1994). The resolution confirms that ECSS shall be the central structure in Europe for space standardisation to be used by ESA, the national space agencies and industry.
The industrial partners are:
The European space industry, through Eurospace, has made a sustained effort to be an effective partner in ECSS. Eurospace has created its own ECSS panel, modified its bylaws to allow non-member companies to contribute to the ECSS initiative, and played an active role in ECSS meetings at all levels.
Associates are governmental and scientific organisations desiring a formal tie with the ECSS, through which they can observe the development process of technical documentation and contribute to the ECS system. Associates are encouraged to participate actively and directly in the document development process.
Structure of ECSS
ECSS consists of four organisational entities (Fig. 1):
Figure 1. The structure of ECSS
Steering Board
The ultimate responsibility for ECSS resides with the Steering Board. The Steering Board is responsible
for:
Technical Panel
The Technical Panel is composed of one delegate from each Member Agency, as well as representatives
of the European space industry and other associated groups as agreed by the Steering Board. The Steering
Board may invite a representative of a standardisation organisation to become an associate.
The Technical Panel is responsible for:
Working Group
When the Technical Panel determines that the formation of a Working Group is required to address a
specific set of standards, the Panel nominates a provisional convenor and calls for the first meeting of the
Working Group. The ECSS Secretariat informs all Participating Agencies, industry and Associates that the
Working Group has been established and asks for nominations for active membership. The participation of
industry and Associates is an essential element of the standardisation process.
The Working Group is responsible for:
Secretariat
The ECSS Secretariat, provided by the European Space Agency, carries out all general secretarial and
administrative duties needed for the operation of the ECSS System.
The Technical Panel has links to two different standardisation bodies, one international one and one European one (Fig. 2).
It maintains a liaison with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its Technical Committee (TC) 20, Subcommittee (SC) 14 - Space Systems, for harmonisation and complementary actions. This liaison is also supported by ESA Member States, who are taking part in developing ISO standards. Most standards developed by ISO TC20/SC14 are standards for interfaces or requirements for international cooperation, such as for docking or space debris.
A European Standard (EN), awarded by the European standardisation organisation, the Comite Europeen de Normalisation (CEN), would give the ECSS standards better international credibility and recognition. The Technical Panel is therefore also in close contact with AECMA, which develops aeronautical and space standards for CEN. CEN is composed of 18 member European countries and has more than 200 technical committees although there is not one dedicated to space activities. AECMA is an associated standardisation body of CEN and can issue pr EN (projet de norme europeenne) documents, which CEN can then review and formally establish as an EN.
Figure 2. The relationship between the ECSS partners and other standardisation
organisations
Different levels of standardisation
Standardisation can take place at several levels:
Figure 3 illustrates the relationship between time and scope at the different levels. While company standards have a very broad scope and require a relatively short creation time, international standards are at the other extreme. Much time is needed before international standards are ready for implementation. While company standards involve very quick decision- making, the development of international standards is a very lengthy process because international consensus has to be sought.
In a perfect world, the nature and scope of the different levels would be fully complementary. Although the reality is somewhat different, ECSS is still striving to attain that goal.
Figure 3. The time/scope relationship for the different levels of standardisation. At the
company level, for example, the standards have a broad scope but can be drafted relatively quickly. On the other hand, international
standards have a more limited scope but require a longer time to approve
Funding
The activities undertaken within ECSS are carried out without any exchange of funds among the members.
Expenses incurred as a result of participation in ECSS are borne by the party concerned.
Consensus need not imply unanimity. All participants have the right to vote on draft documents. The presence of a majority of members is required to constitute a quorum. Each member who casts a negative vote, must identify all the changes which, if made, would allow the member to vote in a positive manner.
For Working Groups, it is recommended not to use the voting process in its normal work unless it is impossible to progress without a vote. In the document decision process, the Working Groups must achieve substantial agreement. However, previous dissenting views and objections will have been con-sidered and a concentrated effort made towards their resolution.
ECSS shall promote the continuous improvement of methods and techniques, and the avoidance of unnecessary work. Experience from past projects and other appropriate sources shall be systematically incorporated into the ECSS system.
ECSS standards should incorporate, where possible, standards already applied by the participating member agencies, and, where standards are missing, utilise already existing international and national standards. Prior to drawing up a standard, the benefits resulting from its use shall be evaluated.
ECSS standards must satisfy all European and international clients, and shall encourage industrial efficiency and competitiveness by limiting the variety of products and processes. Each individual requirement should concern the need to be fulfilled, rather than the means to be used to fulfil it.
ECSS standards shall be harmonised with international standards or working practices where these have been or are in the course of being generally adopted by the European space industry.
The preparation of ECSS standards should take into account valid sources of information and the opinions of all interested parties. These methods will ensure rapid availability of standards at a reasonable cost when they are needed
All members shall promote the application of the standards by encouraging organisations that develop, manufacture or use items related to space missions to use the ECSS standards.
Publication of standards
ECSS standards will be publicly available documents agreed as a result of consultation with space
agencies in Europe and with industry, designed to secure acceptance by users. However, the publication of
a standard by ECSS does not automatically ensure its use. Application of the standard depends on the
voluntary action of interested parties. It becomes binding if a party is contracted to work under these conditions.
The European Space Agency, on behalf of the participating members, holds the copyright for all ECSS documents. No ECSS document may be reproduced in any form without the express consent of ESA. However, this consent has been granted to organisations participating in ECSS for their own use and for their contractors or subcontractors.
Monitoring of implementation
The ECSS standards will only be made applicable to a project by contract
or other legal document. A specific ECSS standard, or part thereof, will be referenced by the complete
document identification.
The party imposing the use of a standard is responsible for monitoring and assuring the correct use and application of that standard.
All users of ECSS standards are invited to inform the ECSS Secretariat about experience gained from application of ECSS standards, so that inadequacies in the standards may be corrected.
Responsibility of the user
It is the responsibility of the party imposing a particular standard to ensure that it meets the intended need.
All parties using a standard are advised to acquaint themselves with the intended scope and applicability of the
standard to prevent inappropriate usage.
ECSS's first task was to draw up a policy document. A dedicated working group, set up in late 1993, has prepared a document entitled Standardization Policy (ECSS-P-00), which has been approved by the Steering Board.
This document addresses the different aspects of the standards system, including its scope, objectives, implementation, authority, organisation and documentation. It also defines the documentation architecture which will facilitate the organisation and retrieval of information within the ECSS standards system. The architecture (Fig. 4) identifies the different levels of detail required to differentiate the major functions, disciplines and activities for which standards will be developed. The documentation is basically organised in three main branches: Management, Product Assurance and Engineering.
The scope, purpose and location of every ECSS standard must conform to this architecture. Any subordinate standards falling below those shown in Figure 4 will be organised in a manner approved by the Technical Panel.
Figure 4. ECSS documentation architecture. The final draft of the documents is expected to be available at the end of June 1995
Active Working
Groups The ECSS Secretariat had proposed a work schedule for 1994/95 based on the ESA Council
Resolution to enable a transition from the present ESA series of standards, named Procedures, Standards and
Specifications (PSS), to ECSS by the end of June 1995. The Technical Panel has therefore authorised three
Working Groups to start their work according to established terms of references. The three Working Groups
reflect the three main branches of the documentation architecture.
They are:
All groups must prepare the Level 1 and Level 2 standards in draft form as well as a list of proposed Level 3 standards documents by 31 March 1995. These Level 1 and 2 standards have been identified in the documentation architecture of the ECSS Standardization Policy document (ECSS-P-00) (Fig. 4).
The European Cooperation for Space Standardisation (ECSS) initiative is a challenge for the European space community. The initiative is not intended to be revolutionary but rather evolutionary. It aims, insofar as possible, to make maximum use of existing standards, adopt commonly used international standards, and ensure coordination and liaison with organisations dedicated to standardisation.
ECSS is designed to increase the efficiency of the European space industry and to strengthen its international competitiveness. It was set up in a spirit of true cooperation between agencies and industry - achievement of consensus is the major goal and as a consequence participation of agencies and industry in Europe is essential.
It is vital that all customers are convinced that ECSS standards are of high quality, and that they will apply these standards.
Success will depend on a relatively fast implementation. To meet the stated policy of ECSS application within the time limit set by the ESA Council requires a concentrated effort by all parties. The three Working Groups already enjoy extensive, competent and active participation by all participating member countries and the European space industry. This is a very encouraging sign and gives confidence that the basic framework of ECSS standards will become available for new space activities by the end of the summer of 1995.
ESA Bulletin Nr. 81.