Telemetry Prognostic for Upgrading Space Flight Equipment Design, Manufacturing, Test, Integration, Launch and On-Orbit Satellite Operations

Abstract

The satellite and launch vehicle industry suffers from a high infant mortality failure rate of ~25%. Infant mortality failures are accepted as normal and to be expected in all industries that produce electronic and electromechanical equipment. As a consequence, the commercial space industry was created to mitigate risk for satellite owners and operators. Any process that results in infant mortality failures is inadequate. Prognostics or pro-active diagnostics corrects this inadequate process by identifying piece-parts and components that will fail within the first year of use during factory test. Prognostics offers to reduce if not eliminate launch failures, launch pad delays, son-orbit infant mortalities, surprise in-orbit failures and extend in-orbit equipment usable life by identifying unreliable equipment long before its shipped to the launch pad. For the first time, all the information to identify unreliable equipment can be financially justified. Prognostics technology adds many financial rewards for using telemetry, easily justifying the need for increasing the number and resolution of telemetry measurements. Using telemetry prognostics in the space flight equipment and vehicle factories, upgrades space equipment processes by identifying unreliable pieceparts and assemblies during equipment test, reducing the time to test equipment, identifying equipment that has failed, is failing and will fail, increasing reliability and eliminating infant mortalities. The shorter equipment and vehicle test time reduces cost while increasing vehicle/equipment reliability. Telemetry prognostics algorithm determines of remaining-usable-life based on information available in existing equipment telemetry.