Mission assurance & PA/QA support
When the margin for error is zero, assurance is everything. Our PA/QA specialists bring ECSS-certified discipline to your programme – from early risk identification through final launch readiness – so nothing critical slips through between milestones.
Because in space, there is no coming back to fix it
Every decision made on the ground - every test that was run or not run, every nonconformance that was accepted or rejected, every supplier audit that was thorough or cursory - is locked into the hardware for the lifetime of the mission.
Mission assurance exists to make those decisions correctly. Product assurance and quality assurance provide the systematic framework that ensures nothing critical is overlooked, nothing is assumed without evidence, and nothing reaches flight that has not been properly qualified, tested, and documented.
Nord Space provides experienced PA/QA consultants who bring the discipline, the depth, and the pragmatism to make mission assurance work in practice - not just on paper. We understand that product assurance is not an obstacle to programme progress. Done well, it is what makes programme progress sustainable.
What we cover
Product assurance planning Our consultants develop PA plans that establish clear requirements, define responsibilities, and set inspection and review points – tailored to your programme’s risk profile and budget, not to a generic template.
ECSS quality assurance
We apply ECSS-Q standards with the experience to distinguish between requirements that are critical to mission success and those that can be appropriately tailored – keeping your programme compliant without unnecessary overhead.
Parts, materials & processes (PMP)
Our PMP specialists support parts selection reviews, EEE component qualification, materials and processes approval, and derogation management – ensuring nothing reaches your flight hardware that has not been properly assessed and approved.
FMEA & failure analysis
We conduct rigorous FMEA activities at system, subsystem, and component level – identifying failure modes, assessing criticality, and ensuring appropriate design margins, redundancy provisions, and mitigation measures are in place.
Nonconformance management
Our consultants establish and manage nonconformance control systems that ensure every deviation from specification is properly reviewed, the root cause is understood, and the disposition decision is made with full awareness of the implications.
Supplier quality assurance & audits Our PA/QA consultants conduct supplier assessments and audits across Europe – evaluating manufacturing processes, quality management systems, inspection capabilities, and documentation standards – and work with suppliers to close findings and improve performance.
Safety & hazard analysis
We conduct safety analyses and hazard identification exercises in accordance with ECSS safety standards – producing the safety data packages required for launch site operations, range safety approval, and on-orbit safety cases.
Acceptance testing & review support
Our consultants support the planning and conduct of acceptance test campaigns – reviewing test procedures, witnessing critical tests, documenting results, and supporting acceptance and delivery review boards through to formal handover.
Launch readiness review support
We support LRR preparation comprehensively – reviewing the status of all open actions, nonconformances, and waivers, assessing the completeness of the flight documentation package, and ensuring the programme is genuinely ready to launch, not just administratively ready.
How we engage
PA/QA engagements range from short-term, targeted support – a supplier audit, an FMEA workshop, a launch readiness review – to long-term embedded programme roles providing end-to-end mission assurance coverage across a full development lifecycle.
We embed at the level your programme requires. Some clients need a senior PA manager to own the function entirely. Others need specialist support in a specific area – PMP, safety, nonconformance management – alongside an existing PA team. We assess what your programme actually needs and provide exactly that, without unnecessary overhead.
Why Nord Space
Product assurance is a discipline where experience is everything. The consultants who add the most value are not those who know the standards best – they are the ones who have applied them on real programmes, seen what goes wrong when they are not followed, and developed the judgement to know when to push back and when to be pragmatic.
Our PA/QA consultants bring exactly that experience – from satellite platform development, instrument programmes, ground segment projects, and launch campaigns across ESA and commercial space. They have sat in nonconformance review boards, conducted supplier audits under time pressure, and prepared launch readiness packages for programmes where the margin for error was genuinely zero.
That is the standard of mission assurance we bring to your programme.
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