Standards in the space industry: Looking back,looking forward

Abstract

Spaceflight is ingrained in the imagination as a state-of-the-art technology. Its level of sophistication and intricacy is unparalleled.The space industry, with its large budgets and few producers, has been able to maintain a craft mentality in the face of the hi-tech ethos of mass production. One striking example of this craft mentality is a relative lack of industry-wide standards for the design and operation of satellites. This article discusses standards-setting in the space industry, suggesting that thus far the industry has often resisted imposing standards in favor of customization. Given the maturation of on-orbit servicing technology and future shift from astronaut-assisted repair to semi-autonomous robotic repair, the lack of interoperability standards is increasingly problematic. How, what, and when to standardize, as well as who makes this decision, is an organizational question that has significant consequences for the future of satellite design and the operation of the space industry. It is thus important to be mindful of the current context of outer space and spaceflight, as well as to consider which lessons from human on-orbit servicing may provide insights for the development of a robotic on-orbit servicing infrastructure.

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