Space design: Rad-hard and integrated – a space component checklist Designing electronic boards for use in space can be hindered by radiation, a vacuum environment and cost, write Thibault Brunet, Salvo Pappalardo and Ferdinando Tonicello. Figure 1: Latching current limiters distribute power from the main bus to relevant loads The design of electronics boards for space applications, whether for satellites or for manned missions, faces several challenges simultaneously. The presence of radiation can modify or destroy components, the vacuum environment limits power dissipation to conduction and there is also the high cost of launching and flying spacecraft, as well as the critical nature of many missions. An added complication is that maintenance is next to impossible to do on-the-fly.