Finding answers to space industry´s top 10 reliability problems

This paper is the cornerstone for a Masters thesis that is to be published in 2002. It is the result of a cooperative effort between a 3rd year electrical engineering (EE) undergraduate, an EE college professor, and several reliability engineering experts that work for The Aerospace Corporation. The topic of this paper is an analytical process for identifying the top-10 problems that obstruct efforts to design high-reliability into modern space systems. The approach used to rate such problems is based on conjecture that the worst problem is one that is overlooked until it is too late. The chronological description of a process for uncovering these problems should prove helpful to domestic and international developers of reliability assessment tools, standards and guides that seek insight as to where to focus their energies. Also, the developers of space systems should find this process helpful for planning reliability engineering programs that conform to “faster-better-cheaper” business practices, which are popular but sometimes lead to undesirable results when risk is not properly assessed