NewSpace Testing
Application Notes
Whether you work in Traditional Space or NewSpace, testing is a focused activity that helps increase confidence in the ability of a satellite—or constellation of satellites—to fulfill its mission over the expected lifespan. For any organization, the depth, breadth and cost of the testing it ultimately chooses to perform is a function of its tolerance for risk and the consequences of mission failure.
Testing is also a specialized activity requiring high-cost equipment that covers microwave or, increasingly, millimeter-wave frequencies. As a result, the test function is a big, shiny target when organizations start looking for cost reductions. Unfortunately, cost-reduction initiatives tend to happen late in the satellite lifecycle—and by then it is often a matter of too little, too late.