Commercial Off-the-shelf Components Research Articles

Novel Approach for Network Data Exchange Among Safety-Related Control Systems of Nuclear Reactors

Industrially mature digital networking technologies form the backbone of the distributed control architectures of nuclear reactors. Typically, hundreds of control systems responsible for assuring safer and secure plant operations are located in the field and interconnected via wired isolated local area networks, which are also connected to centralized servers and operating consoles located in the main control room. Many of such control systems require data processed by other systems situated far away in the plant, which mandates multiple concurrent reliable TCP sessions to be active or live for such field-level control systems. Multi-socket communication beyond 10 is practically difficult for embedded systems with limited memory and processing capabilities; hence, data accumulation, extraction, and routing are typically done with the help of commercially available high-performance servers and switches. The servers and operating consoles of a plant are generally Linux-based commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) industrial computers, whose development lifecycle is not accessible for review and in accordance with safety guides; hence, qualifying such components for safety operations is extremely difficult. This paper presents a novel way of independently offloading safety-related data transactions from such COTS components (reducing dependency) with the help of very simple, reliable, and secure hardware, which is referred to as a data exchange and processing unit (DEPU). An approach is proposed to realize distributed control architecture with this proposed hardware (to simplify qualification tasks) along with existing servers and operating consoles without compromising powerful and convenient human-machine interface as well as the data logging capabilities of such components. Hardware and software design perspectives, performance characterization, and qualification testing of the DEPU in accordance with nuclear power plant instrumentation and control system design guidelines are also briefed in this paper.

Safe Maintenance of Railways using COTS Mobile Devices: The Remote Worker Dashboard

The railway domain is regulated by rigorous safety standards to ensure that specific safety goals are met. Often, safety-critical systems rely on custom hardware-software components that are built from scratch to achieve specific functional and non-functional requirements. Instead, the (partial) usage of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components is very attractive as it potentially allows reducing cost and time to market. Unfortunately, COTS components do not individually offer enough guarantees in terms of safety and security to be used in critical systems as they are. In such a context, RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana), a major player in Europe for railway infrastructure management, aims at equipping track-side workers with COTS devices to remotely and safely interact with the existing interlocking system, drastically improving the performance of maintenance operations. This paper describes the first effort to update existing (embedded) railway systems to a more recent cyber-physical system paradigm. Our Remote Worker Dashboard (RWD) pairs the existing safe interlocking machinery alongside COTS mobile components, making cyber and physical components cooperate to provide the user with responsive, safe, and secure service. Specifically, the RWD is a SIL4 cyber-physical system to support maintenance of actuators and railways in which COTS mobile devices are safely used by track-side workers. The concept, development, implementation, verification, and validation activities to build the RWD were carried out in compliance with the applicable CENELEC standards required by certification bodies to declare compliance with specific guidelines.

Integrating Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Components into Radiation-Hardened Drone Designs for Nuclear-Contaminated Search and Rescue Missions

This paper conducts a focused probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) on the reliability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) drones deployed for surveillance in areas with diverse radiation levels following a nuclear accident. The study employs the event tree/fault tree digraph approach, integrated with the dual-graph error propagation method (DEPM), to model sequences that could lead to loss of mission (LOM) scenarios due to combined hardware–software failures in the drone’s navigation system. The impact of radiation is simulated by a comparison of the total ionizing dose (TID) with the acceptable limit for each component. Errors are then propagated within the electronic hardware and software blocks to determine the navigation system’s reliability in different radiation zones. If the system is deemed unreliable, a strategy is suggested to identify the minimum radiation-hardening requirement for its subcomponents by reverse-engineering from the desired mission success criteria. The findings of this study can aid in the integration of COTS components into radiation-hardened (RAD-HARD) designs, optimizing the balance between cost, performance, and reliability in drone systems for nuclear-contaminated search and rescue missions.

Calibration of the Deposited Energy in CMOS Imagers for Particle Detection on Nanosatellites

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) CMOS sensors are increasingly used in scientific applications on nanosatellites. Applying a software-based approach and in addition to their image acquisitions tasks, these CMOS sensors can be used to detect ionizing particles to improve the fault tolerance of imaging instruments on nanosatellites without the need for additional hardware. A challenge in using COTS components for this approach is that essential radiation test data and important parameters such as the thickness of the sensitive epitaxial layer are typically not available. With a simplified calibration approach, we determine the epitaxial layer thickness and calibrate the deposited energy sensitivity with minimal measurement time and steps and minor requirements on the test facility. A forward model for particle track length determination with an increased angle scattering of incident protons is used to handle stronger parameter uncertainties of the test setup. It is shown that the currently used CMOS sensor (HWK1910A) is a suitable candidate for a radiation monitor, based on the determined epitaxial layer thickness and the deposited energy calibration factor, in combination with the in-orbit mission data. This enables capabilities for more individual protection measures in case of unexpected radiation environments.

Stratospheric Night Sky Imaging Payload for Space Situational Awareness (SSA).

Space situational awareness (SSA) refers to collecting, analyzing, and keeping track of detailed knowledge of resident space objects (RSOs) in the space environment. With the rapidly increasing number of objects in space, the need for SSA grows as well. Traditional methods rely heavily on imaging RSOs from large, narrow field-of-view (FOV), ground-based telescopes. This research outlines the technology demonstration payload, Resident Space Object Near-space Astrometric Research (RSONAR)-a star tracker-like, wide FOV camera combined with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware to image RSOs from the stratosphere, overcoming the disadvantages of ground-based observations. The hardware components and software algorithm are described and evaluated. The eligibility of the payload for SSA is proven by the image processing algorithms, which detect the RSOs in the images captured during flight and the survival of the COTS components in the near-space environment. The payload features a low-resolution, wide FOV camera coupled with a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based platform that houses the altitude and time-based image capture algorithm. The newly developed payload in a 2U-CubeSat form factor was flown as a space-ready payload on the CSA/CNES stratospheric balloon research platform to carry out algorithm and functionality tests in August 2022.

Best practices on adopting open-source and commercial low-cost devices in small satellites missions

The NewSpace approach of utilizing CubeSats and smaller satellites for complex LEO missions that once were reserved only for bigger platform, paired with the requirement of enduring reliability and quality assurance on batches of tens of satellites, is paving the way for the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components in micro-satellite missions. The recent global supply chain issues and extended lead times in the procurement of micro-controllers, memories and passive electronic components, caused by the pandemic and factories shutdowns, have resulted in a forced procurement diversification of several key elements, even in partially assembled products.GAUSS has been designing, manufacturing, and launching Small Satellites since early 2000.Its tenth satellite, UNISAT-7, was launched by a Soyuz-Fregat LV on March 22nd, 2021. Thanks to the vast experience gained on the application of commercial components in all the subsystems developed by the company, the typical overall costs for a complete platform are substantially lower compared to competitors, while retaining similar reliability.UNISAT-7, developed using lean-satellite methodologies, included more than 28 independent subsystems with their own telemetry, and most of them were developed in-house using ground COTS components; no space-grade products were employed, to save on overall mission costs. Some systems were devised from the start using open-source hardware, to expedite the prototyping process, while having the benefit of using readily available software, generally included with these platforms. Raspberry embedded devices were employed on the flight model for two remote sensing systems, to test how such systems, duly adapted to sustain space conditions, may perform and show reliability similar to commercial space systems worth thousand times the value.All systems have been activated and successfully verified for an entire year in LEO. They were hardened for vacuum, extreme temperatures, radiation, and launch stresses using common items found in general hardware stores.This work will delve into the open-source/COTS components used, the process employed to strengthen them, and the programmed flight firmware routines for maximizing embedded devices’ reliability in space.

Cloud Detection Autonomous System Based on Machine Learning and COTS Components On-Board Small Satellites

One of the main applications of small satellites is Earth observation. CubeSats and different kinds of nanosatellites usually form constellations that obtain images mainly using an optical payload. There is a massive amount of data generated by these satellites and a limited capacity of download due to volume and mass constraints that make it difficult to use high-speed communication systems and high-power systems. For this reason, it is important to develop satellites with the autonomy to process data on board. In this way, the limited communication channel can be used efficiently to download relevant images containing the required information. In this paper, a system for the satellite on-board processing of RGB images is proposed, which automatically detects the cloud coverage level to prioritize the images and effectively uses the download time and the mission operation center. The system implements a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) on a Commercial off-the-Shelf (COTS) microcontroller that receives the image and returns the cloud level (priority). After training, the system was tested on a dataset of 100 images with an accuracy of 0.9 and it was also evaluated with CubeSat images to evaluate the performance of a different image sensor. This implementation contributes to the development of autonomous satellites with processing on board.

Trojan Resilient Computing in COTS Processors Under Zero Trust

The commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) component-based ecosystem provides an attractive system design paradigm due to the drastic reduction in development time and cost compared to custom solutions. However, it brings in a growing concern of trustworthiness arising from the possibility of malicious embedded logic or hardware Trojans in COTS components. Existing hardware Trojan countermeasures are typically not applicable to COTS hardware due to the need for zero trust consideration for all supply chain entities, absence of golden models, and lack of observability of internal signals within the component. In this work, we propose a novel approach for runtime Trojan detection and resilience in untrusted COTS processors through judicious modifications in the software. The proposed approach does not rely on any hardware redundancy or architectural modification and hence seamlessly integrates with the COTS-based system design process. Trojan resilience is achieved through the execution of multiple functionally equivalent software variants. We have developed and implemented a solution for compiler-based automatic generation of program variants, metric-guided selection of variants, and their integration in a single executable. To evaluate the proposed approach, we first analyzed the effectiveness of program variants in avoiding the activation of a random pool of Trojans. Then, by implementing several Trojans in an OpenRISC 1000 processor, we analyzed the detectability and resilience under Trojan activation in both single and multiple variants. We also present delay and code size overhead for the automatically generated variants for several programs and discuss future research directions.

Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components (COTS) in Realizing Miniature Implantable Wireless Medical Devices: A Review.

Over the past decade, there has been exponential growth in the per capita rate of medical patients around the world, and this is significantly straining the resources of healthcare institutes. Therefore, the reliance on smart commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) implantable wireless medical devices (IWMDs) is increasing among healthcare institutions to provide routine medical services, such as monitoring patients’ physiological signals and the remote delivery of therapeutic drugs. These smart COTS IWMDs reduce the necessity of recurring visits of patients to healthcare institutions and also mitigate physical contact, which can minimize the possibility of any potential spread of contagious diseases. Furthermore, the devices provide patients with the benefit of recuperating in familiar surroundings. As such, low-cost, ubiquitous COTS IWMDs have engendered the proliferation of telemedicine in healthcare to provide routine medical services. In this paper, a review work on COTS IWMDs is presented at a macro level to discuss the history of IWMDs, different networked COTS IWMDs, health and safety regulations of COTS IWMDs and the importance of organized procurement. Furthermore, we discuss the basic building blocks of IWMDs and how COTS components can contribute to build these blocks over widely researched custom-built application-specific integrated circuits.

Design of a Low-Cost Air Bearing Testbed for Nano CMG Maneuvers

In this paper, a low-cost, miniature spacecraft attitude control simulator is presented for testing miniature actuators such as Nano Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) for simple maneuvers. The experimental setup is composed by an attitude control system (ACS) that mainly consists of a four-CMG cluster in a pyramid configuration and a custom-made air bearing. The one-degree-of-freedom (DoF) air bearing is fabricated to reproduce the frictionless conditions of a nano-satellite in orbit. The ACS is made exclusively using low-cost commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, whilst the air bearing is made using 3D-printed parts. Both hardware and software implementations are described in detail and the performance of the developed simulator is evaluated by two maneuver experiments. Despite the manufacturing imperfections, the ACS is capable of providing higher angular velocities than previously presented in the literature while following the theoretical or simulation data. The results indicate that it is possible to manufacture a low-cost, miniature actuator such as a CMG, using COTS components to demonstrate the operation of an agile nano-satellite. Any deviations from the theoretical values are addressed and several improvements are discussed to further enhance the performance of the air bearing testing platform.

HIGH PERFORMANCE PROCESSING CLUSTER FOR REMOTE SENSING SPACECRAFTS

Recently, there has been a tendency to complicate real time control algorithms, to process a large amount of information from the satellite payload (optical, radar, communication systems) directly on board and to create highly informative communication lines with both ground stations and other satellites. The conditions of outer space (vacuum, radiation) impose significant restrictions on the computing capabilities of onboard equipment, which is used as an onboard digital computer complex, and lead to a significant increasing in the cost of space components. A high-performance and relatively cheap computing cluster structure of an on-board computer based on widely available single-board minicomputers is proposed, which allows distributing the computing load among several nodes and simultaneously backing up the system. As a component of a computing cluster, it is proposed to use a computing cluster system based on COTS (Commercial off-the-shelf) components, which increases performance by several orders while reducing cost. Calculations have shown that the introduction of redundancy and distribution of computational tasks makes it possible to achieve an MTBF of about 3 years, which is quite enough for the active existence of university satellites. The proposed structure of the onboard computer complex is installed on the university satellite for remote sensing of the Earth in the visible range with controlled optical magnification, after the launch of which it is planned to confirm the reliability of the results obtained in this work. An assessment of the performance and reliability of such a cluster system is given, which has shown the possibility of implementing such a system on a university satellite for Earth remote sensing.

Towards generating a reliable device-specific identifier for IoT devices

A significant number of IoT devices are being deployed in the wild, mostly in remote locations and in untrusted conditions. This could include monitoring an electronic perimeter fence or a critical infrastructure such as telecom and power grids. Such applications rely on the fidelity of data reported from the IoT devices, and hence it is imperative to identify the trustworthiness of the remote device before taking decisions. Existing approaches use a secret key usually stored in volatile or non-volatile memory for creating an encrypted digital signature. However, these techniques are vulnerable to malicious attacks and have significant computation and energy overhead. This paper presents a novel device-specific identifier, IoT-ID that captures the device characteristics and can be used towards device identification. IoT-ID is based on physically unclonable functions (PUFs), that exploit variations in the manufacturing process to derive a unique fingerprint for integrated circuits. In this work, we design novel PUFs for Commercially Off the Shelf (COTS) components such as clock oscillators and ADC, to derive IoT-ID for a device. Hitherto, system component PUFs are invasive and rely on additional dedicated hardware circuitry to create a unique fingerprint. A highlight of our PUFs is doing away with special hardware. IoT-ID is non-invasive and can be invoked using simple software APIs running on COTS components. IoT-ID has the following key properties viz., constructability, real-time, uniqueness, and reproducibility, making them robust device-specific identifiers.We present detailed experimental results from our live deployment of 50 IoT devices running over a month. Our edge machine learning algorithm has 100% accuracy in uniquely identifying the 50 devices in our deployment and can run locally on the resource-constrained IoT device. We show the scalability of IoT-ID with the help of numerical analysis on 1000s of IoT devices. Further, we discuss approaches to evaluate and improve the reliability of the IoT-ID.11This manuscript is an extension of the paper ‘IoT-ID: A Novel Device-Specific Identifier Based on Unique Hardware Fingerprints’ Vaidya et al. (2020) published in 2020 IEEE/ACM Fifth International Conference on Internet-of-Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI).

ScOSA system software: the reliable and scalable middleware for a heterogeneous and distributed on-board computer architecture

Designing on-board computers (OBC) for future space missions is determined by the trade-off between reliability and performance. Space applications with higher computational demands are not supported by currently available, state-of-the-art, space-qualified computing hardware, since their requirements exceed the capabilities of these components. Such space applications include Earth observation with high-resolution cameras, on-orbit real-time servicing, as well as autonomous spacecraft and rover missions on distant celestial bodies. An alternative to state-of-the-art space-qualified computing hardware is the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components for the OBC. Not only are these components cheap and widely available, but they also achieve high performance. Unfortunately, they are also significantly more vulnerable to errors induced by radiation than space-qualified components. The ScOSA (Scalable On-board Computing for Space Avionics) Flight Experiment project aims to develop an OBC architecture which avoids this trade-off by combining space-qualified radiation-hardened components (the reliable computing nodes, RCNs) together with COTS components (the high performance nodes, HPNs) into a single distributed system. To abstract this heterogeneous architecture for the application developers, we are developing a middleware for the aforementioned OBC architecture. Besides providing an monolithic abstraction of the distributed system, the middleware shall also enhance the architecture by providing additional reliability and fault tolerance. In this paper, we present the individual components comprising the middleware, alongside the features the middleware offers. Since the ScOSA Flight Experiment project is a successor of the OBC-NG and the ScOSA projects, its middleware is also a further development of the existing middleware. Therefore, we will present and discuss our contributions and plans for enhancement of the middleware in the course of the current project. Finally, we will present first results for the scalability of the middleware, which we obtained by conducting software-in-the-loop experiments of different sized scenarios.

Experimental Approach for the Evaluation of the Performance of a Satellite Module in the CanSat Form Factor for In Situ Monitoring and Remote Sensing Applications

This article includes the phases of conceptualization and validation of a picosatellite prototype named Simple-2 for remote sensing activities using COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) components and the modular design methodology. To evaluate its performance and ensure the precision and accuracy of the measurements made by the satellite prototype, a methodology was designed and implemented for the characterization and qualification of CanSats (soda can satellites) through statistical tests and techniques of DoE (Design of Experiments) based on CubeSat aerospace standards and regulations, in the absence of official test procedures for these kinds of satellite form factor. For the above, two experimental units were used, and all the performance variables of the different satellite subsystems were discriminated. For the above, two experimental units were used, and all the performance variables of the different satellite subsystems were discriminated against. These were grouped according to the dependence of the treatments formulated in thermal and dynamic variables. For the tests of the first variables, a one-factor design was established using dependent samples on each of the treatments. Then, hypothesis tests were performed for equality of medians, using nonparametric analysis of the Kruskal-Wallis variance. Additionally, multivariate analysis of variance was carried out for nonparametric samples (nonparametric multivariate tests), and the application of post hoc multiple-range tests to identify the treatments that presented significant differences within a margin of acceptability. To know the dynamic response and ensure the structural integrity of the satellite module, shock, oscillation, and sinusoidal tests were applied through a shaker. Having applied the experimental methodology to the different units, the results of a real experiment are illustrated in which a high-altitude balloon was used through the application of nonparametric regression methods. This experiment’s interest measured thermodynamic variables and the concentration of pollutants in the stratosphere to corroborate the operating ranges planned in the above experiments using on-flight conditions and estimate the TLR (technology readiness level) of future prototypes.

Low-Cost IoT-Based Sensor System: A Case Study on Harsh Environmental Monitoring.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are promising technologies for exploiting in harsh environments such as can be found in the nuclear industry. Nuclear storage facilities can be considered harsh environments in that, amongst other variables, they can be dark, congested, and have high gamma radiation levels, which preclude operator access. These conditions represent significant challenges to sensor reliability, data acquisition and communications, power supplies, and longevity. Installed monitoring of parameters such as temperature, pressure, radiation, humidity, and hydrogen content within a nuclear facility may offer significant advantages over current baseline measurement options. This paper explores Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components to comprise an installed Internet of Things (IoT)-based multipurpose monitoring system for a specific nuclear storage situation measuring hydrogen concentration and temperature. This work addresses two major challenges of developing an installed remote sensing monitor for a typical nuclear storage scenario to detect both hydrogen concentrations and temperature: (1) development of a compact, cost-effective, and robust multisensor system from COTS components, and (2) validation of the sensor system for detecting temperature and hydrogen gas release. The proof of concept system developed in this study not only demonstrates the cost reduction of regular monitoring but also enables intelligent data management through the IoT by using ThingSpeak in a harsh environment.

COTS-Based Real-Time System Development: An Effective Application in Pump Motor Control

The progress of embedded control systems in the last several years has made possible the realization of highly-effective controllers in many domains. It is essential for such systems to provide effective performance at an affordable cost. Furthermore, real-time embedded control systems must have low energy consumption, as well as be reliable and timely. This research investigates primarily the feasibility of implementing an embedded real-time control system, based on a low-cost, commercially off-the-shelf (COTS) microcontroller platform. It explores real-time issues, such as the reliability and timely response, of such a system implementation. This work presents the development and performance evaluation of a novel real-time control architecture, based upon a BeagleBoard microcontroller, and applied into the PWM (pulse width modulation) control of a three-phase induction motor in a suction pump. The approach followed makes minimal use of general-purpose hardware (BeagleBone Black microcontroller board) and open-source software components (including Linux Operating System with PREEMPT_RT real-time support) for building a reliable real-time control system. The applicability of the proposed control system architecture is validated and evaluated in a real case study in manufacturing. The results provide sufficient evidence of the efficiency and reliability of the proposed approach into the development of a real-time control system based upon COTS components.

A Radiation-Tolerant Wireless Communication System for Severe Accident Monitoring Without Relying on Rad-Hardened Electronic Components

One of the most important considerations in the design of electronic systems for post-accident monitoring in a nuclear power plant is how to deal with the complex and uncertain radiation environments. Without using special design methodologies and adequate protection, nonradiation-hardened commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic components can easily be damaged. In this paper, a new design methodology is proposed so that COTS components can be used in building post-accident monitoring systems (PAMSs). To validate the effectiveness of the methodology, a prototype wireless post-accident monitoring system has been designed, implemented, and evaluated in a 60Co gamma radiation environment. It has been concluded that even at a dose rate of 20 krad (Si)/h, the prototype system operates satisfactorily even after being irradiated for 21 h. The system also operates satisfactorily at a low dose rate of 200 rad (Si)/h. It can be concluded that, even with COTS components, the proposed design can effectively extend the lifespan of post-accident monitoring systems in different radiation environments. Based on the experimental results, it can be said with confidence that the developed radiation-tolerant wireless monitoring system can operate for at least 8 h under the highest observed dose rate (530 Sv/h) encountered during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and would have been able to provide crucial information to first responders following the accident.

A Ranking Model for the Selection and Ranking of Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components

In this article, a deterministic model for the selection and ranking of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components is developed on the basis of fuzzy modified distance-based approach (FMDBA). The COTS selection and ranking problem is modeled as multicriteria decision making problem due to the involvement of multiple ranking criteria like functionality, reliability, compatibility, etc. FMDBA is the combination of the fuzzy set theory and the modified distance-based approach. To show the working of the developed ranking model, a case study of the e-payment system is demonstrated which aims on the selection and ranking of eight COTS components over four major categories of ranking criteria. FMDBA provides a comprehensive ranking of the components based on their calculated composite distance values. To depict the docility of FMDBA method, the results obtained are also compared with the existing decision-making methodologies.

Evaluation of Ionizing Radiation Effects on Device Modules Used in Wireless-Based Monitoring Systems

To increase the reliability of wireless-based monitoring systems under ionizing radiation environments, multiple diversified commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modules have been used to achieve radiation tolerance. This paper presents experimental results of radiation tests on key modules in wireless-based monitoring systems, which include analog signal processing circuits, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) modules, microcontroller modules, and wireless transmission modules. In total, 12 modules have been evaluated, (i.e. 3 analog modules, 3 ADCs, 3 microcontrollers, and 3 wireless transmission modules). The radiation tests are conducted using the gamma radiator at The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab (OSU-NRL). The performance parameters of these 12 modules are investigated under high dose rate (20 krad(Si)/h). Experimental results have shown that the tested modules perform satisfactorily with little sign of degradation until the total dose levels reach the tolerable limits for these modules. Experimental results support the fact that, by using diversified COTS components, one may be able to achieve equivalent performance as those built by using radiation-hardened components, but with a considerable cost-saving. Furthermore, the tests also show that digital modules, particularly, with higher speed processors (i.e. microcontrollers) may be more susceptible to radiation than other types of modules. Therefore, additional shielding should be used to protect them.

Characterization of a COTS-Based RF Receiver for Cubesat Applications.

This paper reports the experimental results of a test campaign performed on the radio-frequency (RF) receiver prototype operating at a 2025–2110 MHz frequency range, designed and fabricated for CubeSat applications. The prototype has been tested through a board-level test approach for the verification of the functional requirements and a component-level one for specific characterization measures. The tests have shown the following results: a −115–−70 dBm sensitivity range, 390 MHz intermediate frequency, a 0 dBm output power level with ±1 dB error, a 2.34 dB noise figure, and a 4.86 W power absorption. Such results have been largely achieved implementing an automatic gain control system by cascading two Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) amplifiers. Moreover, an innovative technique based on RF test points has been successfully experimented and validated to measure the S-parameters of a custom low-pass filter integrated on the receiver, showing the possibility of even characterizing the single COTS components exposed to radiation through a unique board-level test setup. The technique may have a great impact on the cost reduction of electronic boards for space applications, since it would avoid using expensive evaluation boards for each COTS component that needs a radiation test.