This training course will take place on 24-26 October 2023 at ESA/ESTEC (Noordwijk, The Netherlands). It is an on-site course, remote participation will not be possible.

Product Assurance (PA) is the discipline devoted to the study, planning and implementation of activities intended to assure that the design, controls, methods and techniques in a project result in a satisfactory degree of quality in a product.

This PA course will provide participants with an overview of the Product Assurance tasks to be performed throughout a project. It introduces how Product Assurance is implemented in ESA projects and provides practical examples on how PA is involved in projects. The course focuses on hardware-related aspects. Software is dealt with in a separate course usually offered in the second quarter of each year.

Presentations on day 1 provide a generic overview of Product Assurance tasks and introduce the different PA disciplines in ESA projects. The topics of Dependability and Safety are discussed in this part as well.

Day 2 includes lectures on EEE components, Space Radiation Environment and Radiation Hardness Assurance, Materials and Processes, Electronics Assemblies, Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), Electronics Assemblies and Soldering Processes, Materials and Space Environmental Effects as well as Cleanliness and Contamination Control.

Day 3 introduces the topics of Quality Assurance during manufacturing and test of space hardware as well as Standardisation and Supply Chain Management as contributors to mission success.  A possibility for individual meetings with ESA PA experts will be provided in the afternoon. In addition, tours of some ESTEC laboratories are foreseen.

Target group

This course is of particular interest to participants from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises who have limited knowledge of PA activities in the space sector. It is targeted at participants working for SMEs in ESA Member States, Associate States or Collaborating States who are providing or are intending to provide products for space.

A maximum of 2 participants per company can be admitted. There are 40 seats available. Preference will be given to participants from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Please provide your esa-star entity code upon registration.

The session is intended to be an introduction to Product Assurance activities and standards in ESA projects for companies which are not yet familiar with them. Participants will acquire a basic knowledge of various relevant PA topics.

The course is free of charge. Participants are expected to cover their own travel, meal and accommodation costs.

To reach ESA/ESTEC, please feel free to use the practical guide.

Agenda Day 1

13:00 - 13:30    Arrival and Welcome

13:30 - 14:00    Introduction SME Office

14:00 - 16:00    General Product Assurance

•     PA/QA in an ESA project
•     PA tasks during project
•     PA disciplines

16:00 - 16:15    Coffee Break

16:15 - 17:45    Dependability and Safety (RAMS)

•     Introduction to Dependability, Reliability, and Maintainability
•     Dependability Requirements and Process
•     Introduction to Safety (objectives, scope)
•     Safety Requirements and Analyses

Agenda Day 2

09:30 - 11:00    EEE Components

11:00 - 11:15    Coffee Break

11:15 - 12:45    Space Radiation Environment and Radiation Hardness Assurance

12:45 - 13:45    Lunch Break

13:45 - 15:00    Materials and Processes - 1

15:00 - 15:45    Electronics assemblies, printed circuit boards (PCB) - 1

15:45 - 16:00    Coffee Break

16:00 - 16:45    Electronics assemblies, soldering processes - 2

16:45 - 17:30    Materials and space environmental effects

17:30 - 18:00    Cleanliness and contamination control

Agenda Day 3

09:30 - 10:30    Quality Assurance during manufacturing and test of space hardware

10:30 - 10:45    Coffee Break

10:45 - 11:45    Standardisation and Supply Chain Management as contributors to mission success

11:45 - 12:45    Visit to EEE lab and M&P lab

12:45 - 14:00    Lunch

14:00 - 17:00    Industry/ESA meetings to answer dedicated questions

(draft agenda subject to change)

Please inform the organisers at your earliest convenience if you cannot take part in the course by sending an email to: sme-office@esa.int

No-shows on the day will be excluded from future courses and events. ESA takes no responsibility for any required event changes or modifications due to Covid-19.

This training course may be recorded.