Transfer of the ESA/SCC System to the ESCC System

An Information Note

ESA together with National Space Agencies, User Industries, through Eurospace, and representative Component Manufacturers have been working over recent years to improve the European Space sector component (EEE parts) market. A large number of initiatives have been undertaken and many are still running. On October 8th 2002 a key milestone was achieved. This was the signing at ESA Headquarters in Paris of the Founding Act of the European Space Components Coordination (ESCC) initiative. The Founding Act is an agreement by the signatories to the terms of the ESCC Charter which sets forth the operation of ESCC and the obligations of the participating members. ESCC has a preeminent body, the Space Components Steering Board. Under the direction of the Board, ESCC is organised to operate a harmonisation task - to coordinate component activities amongst the members and an executive task - to execute the results of the harmonisation, in particular the operation of the system for component specifications and qualifications.

One element of the ESCC is the transfer to it of the ESA/SCC System . The key consequences of this transfer, which became effective on October 8th, can be summarised as follows:

• The Space Components Coordination Group (SCCG), together with its working groups, which advised ESA over many years on components policy and in particular advised on the implementation of the standardisation embodied in the ESA/SCC specification system is relinquishing its role to the SCSB. The SCSB will operate the ESCC specification system in its own right with ESA as a member on an equal footing with all other members. The SCCG, after transfer of its operations to the ESCC is completed, will be disbanded.
  
• The ESA/SCC system is frozen in its present form.
• A final publication of the ESA/SCC Specifications and the ESA/SCC QPL has been made both on ESCIES and on CDROM, the latter for registered subscribers.
• The majority of ESA/SCC specifications are being transferred directly into the ESCC system in their present form by the addition of an ESCC cover sheet utilising the same title and specification number but reissued at Issue 1.
• A number of ESA/SCC specifications are being replaced by ESCC specifications under corresponding specification numbers covering the same topic. These are in a distinctly different format of presentation and may additionally have small changes in specification title, together with updated content.
• Gradually the cover sheet based ESCC specifications will be transferred into full ESCC specifications to incorporate policy, technical and editorial changes. During the transition changes made as the result of urgent DCRs may result in specifications which no longer have a cover sheet over an ESA/SCC specification but are not fully converted to the ESCC format. The format changes will come later as resources permit.
• During the transfer of integrated circuit Detail specifications there will be an anomaly with regard to the ESCC Component Number. A specific information note provides further details.
• The ESA/SCC Qualified Parts List (QPL) will be replaced by the ESCC QPL. ESA remains the Certification Body and the qualification symbol, the small ESA logo, remains unchanged.
• A first publication of the ESCC Specifications and the ESCC QPL is planned to occur both on ESCIES and on CDROM, the latter for the existing ESA/SCC registered subscribers, early in 2003. The ESCIES release will be in advance of the CD-ROM.
• Qualified manufacturers under ESA/SCC are automatically qualified under ESCC with the current validity period remaining unchanged.
• New ESCC qualification certificates will be issued by ESA to qualified manufacturers at their next successful application for extension.
• Qualified manufacturers should initially only add a note to their PID to indicate that for ESA/SCC references read ESCC. Their PID should be aligned fully to ESCC at the next renewal of a qualification certificate.
• Qualified manufacturers are advised to deliver existing orders to an ESA/SCC Certificate of Conformance with reference as applicable to an ESA/SCC data pack. Once the ESCC specifications are published Qualified manufacturers are advised to deliver new orders to an ESCC Certificate of Conformance with reference as applicable to an ESCC data pack.
• Component users are advised to agree ESA/SCC or ESCC qualified parts orders on a case by case basis with a qualified manufacturer.
• Irrespective of the documentation baseline, non-conformances will be dealt with hereon by the ESCC Executive for ESA/SCC and ESCC qualified parts.
• During the transitional phase from ESA/SCC to ESCC the System contact points for people remain unchanged, i.e. the National Space Agency Personnel previously supporting ESA/SCC where applicable or the Secretariat at ESA. The Secretariat is now addressed as the ESCC Executive Secretariat .
  Questions concerning the transfer of the system which are not answered by this information note should be addressed to your normal contact.
• This information section will be updated and added to as necessary during the transitional phase.