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The market for the large-scale production of low-cost satellites for supplying the constellations of the New Space initiative promise to have exponential growth. Part of the merit for the emergence of this new philosophy of commercial use of space belongs to the very high integration level of the CMOS technology integrated circuits developed for the consumer electronics applications. These COTS are characterized by the high concentration of functions in very low volume, mass and power consumption. The magic of these components however is compensated by the large number of vulnerabilities they present to the aggressive conditions of the space environment. In this presentation we will show the toolbox of technologies that we are developing at INVAP to compensate for such vulnerabilities and improve the profitability of the missions that use these devices.

The presentation will highlight some of the challenges of a dynamically changing global Space context. In particular, it will focus the attention on recent trends reflecting a new approach to the use and operation of satellites with larger constellations given lower costs and shorter lifetime. The presentation will point the attention on the need for supporting the competitiveness of the European Space sector. The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, as a guideline of the EU Space Research for 2021-2027, will be presented with particular focus on the chapter covering Space spin-in activities and view on COTS components.

Key Note Speech 2: Radiation Assurance on COTS – Philippe Calvel