Expanding the Role of Telemetry in the Aircraft and Space Vehicle Factory Acceptance Test to a Design Driver Allowing 100% Equipment to be Identified that Suffer Infant Mortality Failures

Abstract

The aircraft, satellite, missile and launch vehicle industry suffer from catastrophic infant mortality failures rate at ~25% even after exhaustive and comprehensive factory acceptance testing is completed causing unreliable systems, program delays and cost overruns. The discovery of the presence of deterministic behavior in equipment analog telemetry generated during factory acceptance testing preceding all equipment failures, which is identifiable using prognostic analysis, eliminates infant mortality failures resulting in increased equipment reliability, lower program cost, shorter test and delivery schedule and increased equipment usable life ensuring mission success. The addition of a single, embedded analog telemetry measurement to all active equipment allowing all equipment to be identified during factory testing that fails, and all equipment that will fail within the first year of use, to be identified will allow vehicle builders to lower program cost, use less equipment, use less testing and have a shorter delivery schedule and more reliable equipment and longer equipment usable life expanding the use of telemetry to identifying equipment that will fail well into the future.