|
PICA - Principle
|
|
The Pre-Integrated Columbus Assembly (PICA) Principle was the basis upon which the European Space Agency (ESA) allocated work on the Columbus laboratory module of the International Space Station. The Prime Contractor for the design and qualification of the APM delegated the responsibility for the following system engineering areas to its main subcontractor Alenia : - Configuration (including Human Engineering) - Mechanical System - Thermal Control / Life Support System - Illumination - Harness. Alenia was also responsible for the pre-integration of the flight model in Torino (up to harness integration). The Prime Contractor EADS was responsible for: - Overall System Design and Verification - Data Processing (incl. software) - Communications - Electrical Power Supply - Safety / Reliability - Payload Integration. Due to this splitting of the System Engineering responsibility there were many discussions between the two teams necessary until technical solutions were found and implemented as both companies were eager not to loose money. It is estimated that this splitting increased costs on system level up to 25 %; it was also one of the reasons for the program schedule delay. 
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Main Menu
| Home |
| Articles |
| Search |
| Submit Article |
| Contact Us |
| Donate to Wikibin |
