Engineering Guidelines for ESA IOD CubeSat Projects released

Prepared by experts from ESA’s Directorate of Technology, Engineering, and Quality (D/TEC) under the guidance of the CubeSat Systems Unit (TEC-SIU), the handbook provides guidance and recommendations on how CubeSat engineering activities should be carried out.

The main objective is to support external partners in tackling known technical issues and mitigate project risks, leveraging ESA’s accumulated experience from multiple CubeSat missions that have been designed, tested, launched, and operated under its responsibility. The resulting flight and ground test data, combined with accumulated lessons learned, form a solid basis of enhancing the engineering processes used in CubeSat projects.

‘The release of the Engineering Guidelines marks a significant step in aligning ESA’s CubeSat activities with a structured, sound engineering approach. By sharing our experience with the wider community, we aim to foster innovation and mission success while ensuring CubeSats remain a credible platform for demonstration and operational use within ESA’s programmes’, comments Roger Walker, Head of the CubeSat Systems Unit.

‘Whether you are new to CubeSats or looking to strengthen your project execution, this document is designed to support you. It provides a clear, structured approach to the engineering work, helping teams move faster, make better decisions, and have fewer surprises along the way’, adds Roberto Capasso, YGT in CubeSat Systems Engineering and book captain for the Engineering Guidelines.

Complementing the tailored ECSS standards for IOD CubeSats, the guidelines focus on best practices specific to the CubeSat missions, recognizing their distinct characteristics compared to larger ESA spacecrafts.

Key topics addressed include:

• Project management
• Mission/Systems engineering, system assembly, integration and verification (AIV), and system reliability and availability
• Subsystems engineering (all relevant disciplines)
• Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
• Ground segment & operations engineering
• Space debris mitigation compliance
• Radiation hardness assurance (RHA)

You can request access to the Engineering Guidelines here.