OrbitalHub

Today we are joined by Logan Ryan Golema, Founder & Principal, and Vishal Singh, Chief Scientist at Lunargistics. Lunargistics is the Space Division of Hercules Supply Chain Protocol, and it is aiming to provide swift logistics in cislunar space. Logan and Vishal were kind to answer a few questions about Lunargistics and the supply chain in the cislunar space.

Orbital Hub: How big of a risk are the counterfeit components in the aerospace supply chain?

Logan Ryan Golema: You’d be surprised, I know I was. The Aerospace industry has three types of companies; those that make their own parts, those that buy their parts, and those that sell parts. And some of them do all three! These industries are often involved with local manufacturers hence the risk of fraud is very high.

Vishal Singh: More often than not everything is OK and well documented, but when there’s a mistake or a fraudulent document on a fake part disaster can happen. Those disasters can be catastrophic as any aerospace structures when in air or in orbit can take lives on land catastrophically. So if a fraudulent document or some error comes it is a man made disaster. When we talk about a space mission; an inch of error in calculation due to fraudulent documents can lead to a war between States or even worse taking lives of thousands of innocents.

O.H.: How is blockchain technology used to mitigate the risk of counterfeit components in the aerospace supply chain?

L.R.G.: Blockchain solves a lot of issues; from fraudulent documents to manufacturing and maintenance of Airplanes to rockets. It is like providing a birth certificate and an IMEI to each component and will result in understanding the root cause of every single problem occurred while in flight or in manufacturing.

V.S.: Let’s take the example of India’s ambitious mission Chandrayaan-2, which failed probably due to failure of power and communication systems. Using the blockchain in the industry will make the “may” in the statement a definite answer to the cause of failure.

O.H.: What blockchain infrastructure is Lunargistics using?

L.R.G.: Lunargistics will be leveraging the Hercules Blockchain Protocol (https://herc.one). Onboarding existing Aerospace companies in Europe and across the globe to this powerful tool with Enterprise level APIs and high performance apps is our aim. We’re set up with the client in mind so they can focus on their mission while we handle the blockchain side of things.

O.H.: What are the defining features of this blockchain infrastructure?

L.R.G.: The interoperability and layering of modular based components. The Hercules Protocol acts sort of like a LAMP stack of old. Today with Lunargistics managing your HERC stack you’ll have:
– indisputable data integrity,
– timestamped uploads,
– files that will be accessible without fail,
– portfolios of persons involved in the manufacturing of something so small as a screw to the powerhouse of an engine.

It’s like having the birth certificate and report card of each component. By having a blockchain system based on the Hercules module will lead in minimising the failures like Israel’s moon mission and Chandrayaan-2.

O.H.: Is it possible to use a public bockchain infrastructure and, at the same time, address the privacy concerns in the aerospace industry?

L.R.G.: We’ve found a way to integrate a hybrid model of privacy while leveraging public chains. On the flip side, we do offer build outs of private infrastructure that can be available just to the client’s network. Its wholly up to the necessities of the mission and we pride ourselves in our ability to adapt.

O.H.: Is the cislunar space the first step? Does Lunargistics have plans to expand beyond that?

L.R.G.: I’d say if we can manage the market on Earth’s Cislunar space we’re doing good. Lunargistics doesn’t just have to be our Moon though. We’d love to scale to Titan or Europa when the timing is right.

V.S.: Even in the dawn of next decade we may have begun our plans of working with NEO mining companies and fulfilling needs of our the Econosphere. Our expert team has enough time to plan giving a robust buffer which will help us reach the desired goals.

O.H.: What does the near future hold for Lunargistics? Can you share any exciting plans with our readers?

L.R.G.: We’re hard at work onboarding the team that will bring us closer to our goals. As a ‘New Space’ company we’re excited to be accepted into the community by your readers.

Any aerospace companies that want to understand blockchain while keeping focused on their own mission should email us at partnerships@lunargistics.lu.

We’re also hiring! So suit up for the next mission and submit your CVs to careers@lunargistics.lu!

The complexity of aerospace systems is increasing exponentially. Both hardware and software subsystems are becoming more complex and encompassing systems’ behaviour becomes difficult to model due to the dependencies, relationships, and other interactions between their components. Predictable behaviour of complex aerospace systems translates into the reliability of each of their subsystems.

According to published reports the amount of total counterfeiting globally has reached 1.2 trillion USD in 2017, and it is predicted to reach 1.82 trillion USD by 2020. Counterfeiting affects all industries, aerospace and defence included. It turns out that identifying counterfeit components in the aerospace and defence supply chain is really challenging. In 2011 it was estimated that up to 15% of spare parts and replacement used by the US military were counterfeit. In a 9-page report dated November 4, 2016, obtained by Reuters through a freedom of information request, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said 273 affected parts were installed in an unspecified number of Boeing 777 wing spoilers.

Having counterfeit components entering the aerospace market leads to decreased reliability of subsystems used in the aerospace industry. The consequences of using unreliable components in the aerospace and defense industries should not be underestimated or ignored for that matter. Parts that are manufactured for launch systems, spacecraft, aircraft, and weapon systems, and do not meet the required specifications should stay out of the supply chain.

There are various counterfeiting methods. Just to give an example, counterfeiting methods employed in the electronics supply chain include:

• Remarking of new or already used components with false manufacturer names, part numbers, date codes, lot numbers, quality levels. One way to identify remarked electronics is to engage the original manufacturers. However, there were cases when remarking was performed by the original manufacturer.
• Reuse of already used components. The increasing recycling of electronics is causing this trend. Certain countries import used electronics and return to the marketplace components removed from the discarded circuit boards.
• Outsourcing production to production facilities that are not employing proper testing or do not meet specifications.
• False approval markings used by manufacturers that skip the required certification process.

In order to protect itself, the aerospace and defense industry enforces quality management systems standards. The AS9100 standard is a quality management systems standard that includes requirements for aviation, space, and defense organizations. The AS9100 standard includes ISO 9001 quality management system requirements and, in addition, specifies aviation, space, and defense industry requirements. It is important to note that the requirements contained in AS9100 are complementary to existing customer or applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Also, the customer or applicable statutory and regulatory requirements take precedence. The requirements of the standard are applicable to any organization, regardless of type, size, products or services it provides.

AS9100 defines counterfeit product as “An unauthorized copy, imitation, substitute, or modified part, which is knowingly misrepresented as a specified genuine part of an original or authorized manufacturer. NOTE: Examples of a counterfeit part (e.g., material, part, component) can include, but are not limited to, the false identification of marking or labeling, grade, serial number, date code, documentation, or performance characteristics.”

How is AS9100 helping combat the acceptance of counterfeit components in the aerospace and defense supply chain? A number of AS9100 clauses provide requirements relating to the mitigation and prevention of counterfeit components. These clauses are Counterfeit Part Prevention, Control of External Providers, and Information to External Providers. The Counterfeit Part Prevention clause states: “the organization shall plan, implement and control a process appropriate to the product that prevents the use of counterfeit product and either inclusion in product(s) delivered to the customer.”

Also, the Control of Nonconforming Outputs clause requires “counterfeit, or suspect counterfeit, parts shall be controlled to prevent reentry into the supply chain. Unsalvageable and counterfeit parts shall be conspicuously and permanently marked, or positively controlled, until physically rendered unusable to prevent restoration.”

The aerospace industry continues to allow manufacturers to maintain sole responsibility for their own manufacturing records. Also, the proliferation of practices known as “source delegation” and “self-regulation” place the responsibility for supporting documentation solely in the hands of suppliers. While the above-mentioned AS9100 clauses can help alleviate some of these issues, there is an immediate need for supply chain traceability. Employing an industry-wide supply chain database and guaranteeing access to all quality-related documentation seems to offer effective means for countering counterfeit components in the aerospace and defense industry.

References and other useful links:

Counterfeit examples for electronic components

Wikipedia article on AS9100 standard

Quality digest article on AS9100 standard