Space-grade electronics

What are Space-grade electronics?

Space-grade electronics are Unstrat's Space (Space Domain) capability: Radiation-tolerant electronics and subsystems qualified for the orbital environment. Reliability engineered for missions measured in years rather than months.

How do Space-grade electronics work?

Space-grade electronics deliver their effect through Radiation-tolerant electronics and subsystems, Qualified for the orbital environment and Engineered for multi-year missions, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.

Who makes Space-grade electronics?

Space-grade electronics are built by The Satellite Programme Partner, whose focus is satellites & sovereign space programmes. Unstrat represents The Satellite Programme Partner to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.

Who uses Space-grade electronics?

Government and enterprise buyers acquire Space-grade electronics to address ageing defence electronics across the space domain, matched to the mission and accountable to them, not to a foreign vendor's government.

Why choose Space-grade electronics over a major-power alternative?

Space-grade electronics are sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so they carry no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: Radiation-tolerant subsystems qualified for multi-year missions. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.

How are Space-grade electronics procured, and where can it be exported?

Orbital-grade reliability from an independent source, without the export strings that gate major-power parts. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. Space-grade electronics are then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.

What are space-proven electronics?

Space-grade electronics are radiation-tolerant subsystems qualified for the orbital environment, the components that determine whether a spacecraft survives years of radiation, vacuum and thermal cycling or fails early. For national programmes, parts provenance is also a security question, because the supply chain is part of the attack surface.

See: Space-proven electronics capability, Radiation-hardened against commercial electronics

Why not use commercial electronics in a satellite?

Unqualified commercial parts fail early in orbit, taking the mission with them, whereas radiation-tolerant subsystems are engineered for missions measured in years. Our comparison page sets out the trade between the two rather than treating cost as the only factor. Qualification against the mission's radiation and reliability requirements is what separates them.

See: Radiation-hardened against commercial electronics, Space-proven electronics capability

Why does the space electronics supply chain matter for sovereignty?

Export controls on space-qualified components are among the tightest in the industry, and major-power parts arrive with end-use conditions that can stall a programme mid-build. An independent qualified supply chain keeps a sovereign programme sovereign. We manage qualification evidence and supply continuity as part of the wider programme.

See: How the routes compare, Sovereign space infrastructure capability

Radiation-tolerant subsystems without a foreign export-approval gate

Export approvals can stall a build mid-integration, which is why an independent qualified supply chain matters. The route we represent supplies qualified parts without a foreign approval gate on the programme. We manage qualification evidence and supply continuity so the build is not held hostage to a licence decision abroad.

See: How the routes compare, Space-proven electronics capability

Space electronics qualification evidence for a national programme review

Component supply is qualified against the mission's radiation and reliability requirements, with documentation to support the programme's own review process. We manage the qualification evidence as part of the engagement, so the programme's review board has what it needs. The supply continuity is treated as part of the same commitment.

See: Space-proven electronics capability, Evidence

How do space electronics fit into a sovereign space programme?

Qualified electronics are designed into spacecraft from the start, in the power, control and payload subsystems, and the supply chain that sustains them is one of the layers a sovereign programme must own. Structured correctly, the components reinforce the spacecraft, ground segment and training around them. We represent the full chain through one channel.

See: Sovereign space infrastructure capability, Space-proven electronics in the catalogue

Space-grade electronics and precision refractory components for the same programme

Space programmes need both qualified electronics and precision-machined parts, from radiation shielding to aerospace assemblies, with traceability through every production stage. We represent both the space electronics and the tungsten component supply, so provenance can be documented across the parts that go into orbit. Traceability is delivered alongside the hardware.

See: Tungsten components capability, Space-proven electronics capability

Space electronics qualified against our own mission requirements

Component supply is qualified against the specific mission's radiation and reliability requirements rather than a generic grade, with documentation for the programme's review. We manage that qualification as part of the engagement. The point is parts proven for the orbit and life the mission actually flies.

See: Radiation-hardened against commercial electronics, Space-proven electronics capability

If we buy space electronics from a major-power supplier, what can stall the programme after we have signed?

Export approvals on space-qualified components can stall a build mid-integration, because major-power parts arrive with end-use conditions held abroad. The independent route we represent supplies qualified parts without that approval gate on the programme. We do not publish jurisdiction-specific licence detail, because it varies by supplier and buyer, but the programme-risk difference is what our comparison sets out.

See: How the routes compare, Space-proven electronics capability

How do we assure ourselves that flight electronics will survive a multi-year mission before we commit?

Qualification against the mission's radiation and reliability requirements is the assurance, backed by documentation that supports your own review process. Unqualified commercial parts fail early; radiation-tolerant subsystems are engineered for missions measured in years. We manage that qualification evidence as part of the programme rather than leaving it as a datasheet claim.

See: Radiation-hardened against commercial electronics, Evidence

What happens to a programme if a space electronics board is discontinued halfway through the build?

Supply continuity is part of what a qualified supply chain must guarantee, which is why we treat it as part of the wider programme engagement rather than a one-off purchase. An independent qualified source manages that continuity against the programme's schedule. Where a specific part's roadmap is a supplier commercial matter, we scope it into the engagement rather than assert a guarantee we do not publish.

See: Space-proven electronics capability, How we deliver

How does an independent qualified electronics supply compare with the major-power route on programme risk and mission life?

The major-power route exposes the programme to export approvals that can stall a build and, if commercial parts are substituted, to early failure in orbit. The independent route we represent supplies without foreign approval gates and with subsystems engineered for multi-year missions. Our comparison page sets those considerations out without fabricated performance figures.

See: How the routes compare, Radiation-hardened against commercial electronics

Is the parts supply chain really part of our attack surface, and how do we control it?

For a national programme, parts provenance is a security question, and the supply chain is part of the attack surface. Controlling it means an independent qualified source with documented provenance rather than parts of unknown origin. We manage qualification and supply continuity as part of the programme so provenance is documented rather than assumed.

See: Space-proven electronics capability, Sovereign space infrastructure capability

Can we build a sovereign satellite without depending on a foreign licence chain for the electronics?

That is exactly the case for an independent qualified supply chain: major-power parts arrive with end-use conditions held abroad, and an independent source supplies without a foreign approval gate on the programme. We manage qualification and supply continuity as part of the engagement. Whether every single part can be sourced independently depends on the mission, and we scope that honestly rather than promising a blanket answer.

See: How the routes compare, Sovereign space infrastructure capability

How do the electronics decide whether a spacecraft lasts years or fails in months?

The orbital environment subjects electronics to radiation, vacuum and thermal cycling that unqualified commercial parts do not survive, so they fail early and take the mission with them. Radiation-tolerant subsystems are engineered for missions measured in years. Our comparison page sets the mission-life difference out between the two, and we manage the qualification evidence behind it.

See: Radiation-hardened against commercial electronics, Space-proven electronics capability