Space Payload & Avionics Manufacturing worked example

Radiation Part Premium at 81% share requiring rad-hard grade: a worked example

What does the result look like when share requiring rad-hard grade reaches 81%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A payload electronics buyer sizing how much TID and SEE hardness requirements add to a quoted assembly.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Rad-Hard Components per Board: 48 parts (unchanged)
  • Premium Over COTS Equivalent: 1,200 $/part (unchanged)
  • Share Requiring Rad-Hard Grade: 81 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 70)
  • Lot Radiation Test Charge: 8,500 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total premium = rad-hard parts x premium over COTS x share needing hardness + lot test charge) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 55,156 $ for total radiation part premium cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,149 $ / piece for radiation part premium cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 46,656 $ for variable radiation part premium cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8,500 $ for fixed radiation part premium adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where share requiring rad-hard grade sits at 70% and the headline result is 48,820 $, this scenario comes in 12.98% above the baseline at 55,156 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when share requiring rad-hard grade is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It treats the per-part premium as a flat average; real rad-hard pricing varies enormously by part type (a rad-hard FPGA premium dwarfs a rad-hard regulator), so validate against actual quotes for driver parts.

Results at a glance

  • Total radiation part premium cost: 55,156 $ (headline result)
  • Radiation part premium cost per unit: 1,149 $ / piece
  • Variable radiation part premium cost: 46,656 $
  • Fixed radiation part premium adder: 8,500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Radiation Part Premium calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.