The observation behind this collaboration is that a great many small payload teams independently write nearly identical test procedures, book chamber time too late, and lose a quarter to a queue. None of this is a technical problem and all of it is expensive.
The consortium does three things: maintains a set of reviewed procedure templates that a first-time team can adapt rather than originate, coordinates chamber slots across participating facilities so that a cancelled booking is offered to somebody who can use it, and runs a short review session for teams about to enter their first campaign.
It is not a funding vehicle and does not pay for test time. It removes the delays that surround test time, which for a small team is frequently the more valuable intervention.
Facility hosts benefit from higher utilisation and from receiving better-prepared users. Payload teams benefit from not writing a procedure from a blank page at the point of maximum schedule pressure.
How it runs
The mechanics, stated plainly.
Shared procedure templates
Reviewed thermal-vacuum, thermal balance and vibration procedure templates, maintained by the consortium and adaptable to a specific payload.
Coordinated slot exchange
Participating facilities notify the group of cancellations and spare capacity. Slots are offered to participants who can use them at short notice.
Pre-campaign review
A half-day review of a team's procedure and instrumentation plan before its first campaign, conducted by people who have run several.
What you provide
- For payload teams: your procedure and instrumentation plan for review, and your lessons afterwards
- For facility hosts: notification of spare or cancelled capacity
- A contribution back to the template set after your campaign
- Honest reporting of anomalies, which is where the templates improve
What you get
- Reviewed procedure templates rather than a blank document
- Early notice of chamber slots that would otherwise go unused
- A pre-campaign review by experienced test conductors
- A considerably lower chance of losing a quarter to a queue
Terms
Agreed before anybody contributes anything, which is the only moment it works.
- Procedure templates are shared freely among participants and may be published in generic form
- Payload designs and test results remain wholly confidential to the owner
- Slot allocation is coordinated but contracted directly with the facility
- Anomaly reports are anonymised before informing template revisions