In March 1998 the ECSS Secretariat commissioned a team from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK to develop a promotional campaign and training materials for ECSS standards.

Background
The European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) initiative began in 1993 with the mission to develop a coherent, single set of user friendly standards for use in all European space activities. This initiative began after requests by industry through the Eurospace trade association for CNES and ESA to harmonise their product assurance standards. This requirement was later extended to encompass the standardisation of project management, product assurance and engineering activities for the entire European space community. The aims of ECSS have been to develop standards which improve industrial efficiency and competitiveness in the space industry. This has been achieved by replacing the multitude of different standards and requirements unique to each contractor or space agency, which existed in the past, with one coherent set. The ECSS initiative sustains the involvement of each of the major space agencies in Europe and the majority of European Space industry through Eurospace. To date 25 standards have been published and 30 more are under development. Each standard is developed by a working group comprising of industrialists and representatives from the national space agencies in Europe and ESA.

The heavy financial commitment already demonstrated by many private companies involved in the development of these standards, demonstrates the confidence that all concerned have in their applicability and usefulness for the European and world wide space industry. The high level of review by industry and the backing of CNES ensures that these standards are industrially relevant and represent best practice for the industry.

Promotion
The promotional campaign will begin with the launch of a newsletter focusing on the views of industry and the national space agencies, regarding the development of this unique system of standards. The newsletter will highlight the benefits to industry, from the use of these standards, for the development and manufacture of products for the European space industry. It will demonstrate case studies of companies already committed to the use of these standards, showing the reasons for their involvement and the benefits to their companies from the use of these standards. This publication will also have special features on the standards under development from members of the working groups, and tackle issues relating to the development and use of the standards including: recognition of the standards by international standards organisations e.g. ISO, CEN and CENELEC, tailoring of the standards and training.

If you have been involved in the development of these standards and would like to submit articles on any of the above topics for the newsletter, please contact Dr Gareth Francis at the address below.

To reserve copies of the first issue of this  newsletter (to be published in Nov/Dec 1998) please contact Dr Gareth Francis at:

National Physical Laboratory
Queens Road
Teddington
Middlesex
TW11 0LW
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 181 943 6329
Fax +44 181 943 6821
E-mail: gareth.francis@npl.co.uk