Space Payload & Avionics Manufacturing worked example

Radiation Part Premium at 50% share requiring rad-hard grade: a worked example

This worked example runs the radiation part premium numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 50% share requiring rad-hard grade instead of the typical 70%. Estimates the added cost of specifying radiation-hardened components over commercial equivalents across a flight board build.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Rad-Hard Components per Board: 48 parts (held at the documented default)
  • Premium Over COTS Equivalent: 1,200 $/part (held at the documented default)
  • Share Requiring Rad-Hard Grade: 50 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 70)
  • Lot Radiation Test Charge: 8,500 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Total premium = rad-hard parts x premium over COTS x share needing hardness + lot test charge.
  • Total radiation part premium cost works out to 37,300 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Radiation part premium cost per unit works out to 777 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable radiation part premium cost works out to 28,800 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed radiation part premium adder works out to 8,500 $ at these inputs.

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 23.6% below the baseline at 37,300 $.
  • Use it during BOM costing, proposal pricing, or a rad-hard-vs-rad-tolerant trade study before committing a design to a radiation environment. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Total radiation part premium cost: 37,300 $ (headline result)
  • Radiation part premium cost per unit: 777 $ / piece
  • Variable radiation part premium cost: 28,800 $
  • Fixed radiation part premium adder: 8,500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Radiation Part Premium calculator, set share requiring rad-hard grade to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.