Our success and the esteem of our partners and customers are heavily dependent on the quality of our research, development and services. In order to continuously fill the demands made on us and provide products and services which can be safely and reliably employed, the Earth Observation Center (EOC) has committed itself to the concept of quality and to implementing it in all areas of work.
A long-standing commitment to providing high quality products and services was formalized when a quality management system (QMS) was established following EN ISO 9001 specifications. This QMS has been certified since 2007, followed by periodic re-inspections and recertifications. With regard to satellite missions, ECSS standards (European Cooperation for Space Standardization) are applied in addition. In this QMS, project management processes as well as production and operational processes receive special attention.
The project management processes relate to all the development and operational phases of ground segments for large satellite projects such as TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X and EnMAP. Particular aspects such as risk management and product assurance are firmly integrated in each process. Production and operating processes have been described for the sphere of ground segments for satellite remote sensing and for dedicated user services.
Examples for certifications in the ground segment sphere are the software development known as the Data Information and Management System (DIMS) and DFD’s satellite ground stations. In the area of user services, examples are the certification of the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) and of the Optical Airborne Remote Sensing and Calibration Facility (OpAiRS).