From concept to flight delivery in eighteen months: the MECA/Electrometer case study

The rapid development of space instrumentation is increasingly important in this faster; better, cheaper era. This paper discusses the development of the MECA/Electrometer. It used a number of innovations including (a) rapid design of three prototypes, (b) fabrication of 20 units, (c) testing by three institutions, and (d) testing over a wide range of temperature, pressures, atmospheres, and vibration conditions in an eighteen month period.