Realization of the Concept of Reasonably Reliable Systems Engineering in the Design of Nano-Satellites

High reliability is an essential requirement for avoiding failures in the development of mid-to-large size satellites, which has a major impact on development costs. Conversely, since 2000, several universities have developed and launched low-cost nano-satellites for the purpose of education. Low cost and fast development are key factors in expanding the market for satellites, and balancing cost and reliability becomes a key objective. This paper presents the concept of reasonably reliable systems engineering, which can be considered in terms of the process and the product. In the process approach, we propose a meta-process with an integral quality assurance concept. In the product approach, we introduce a new categorization of failures and propose effective counter measures for each category. Using the product approach, we calculate the probability of service. We applied this method to nano-satellite design and illustrate it with an example of satellite architecture design.