Quality assurance for space instruments built with COTS

Instruments for space can be built with COTS. However no radiation data are available for COTS, so the only way to ensure that the components can survive the space environment is to irradiate each component. Samples from each Lot have to be irradiated, because the manufacturing process can be changed at any time and have major consequences to the components ability to survive the space environment. A safe way to protect to components, which are not Latch-Up immune, is to protect the components with a Latch-Up protection circuit. A strict control has to be established, when procuring COTS component, testing and manufacturing the instrument before the instrument is qualified for space. By having a strict control with instrument built with COTS, it is possible to manufacture a reliable instrument as with Rad-Hard components.