ESCC Basic Specification No. 25600 - Requirements for Process Capability Approval

Aug 30, 2026

Defines requirements for Process Capability Approval (PCA) for suppliers manufacturing, assembling, and testing electrical, electronic, or electromechanical (EEE) components for space applications. Specifies that PCA certification of the supplier does not confer ESCC product qualification, which is achieved through separate ESCC qualification documents. Outlines purpose, scope, applicable specifications, key definitions and abbreviations, the PCA programme phases, process capability domain boundaries, and the supplier and domain evaluation and testing workflow, including approval validity and procedures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

1.1 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

2 TERMS, DEFINITIONS, ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS AND UNITS

2.1 DEFINITIONS

2.2 ABBREVIATIONS

3 INTRODUCTION

4 DEFINITION OF THE PROCESS CAPABILITY DOMAIN

4.1 CAPABILITY ABSTRACT

4.2 PROCESS IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT

5 EVALUATION OF THE SUPPLIER

5.1 GENERAL

5.2 SUPPLIER’S DESIGN FACILITIES

6 EVALUATION OF THE PROCESS CAPABILITY DOMAIN

6.1 GENERAL

6.2 EVALUATION TEST STRUCTURES

6.3 COMPLETION OF EVALUATION

7 PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL TESTING

7.1 GENERAL

7.2 TEST STRUCTURES FOR PCA TESTING

7.3 PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL TESTING

7.4 TEST REPORT

7.5 ESCC CERTIFICATION AND LISTING

8 PROCEDURES

8.1 REQUEST FOR PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL

8.2 VALIDITY OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL

8.3 EXTENSION OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL VALIDITY

8.4 ESCC RE-CERTIFICATION AND LISTING

8.5 LAPSE OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL VALIDITY

8.6 LOSS, RESTRICTION OR SUSPENSION OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL

8.7 REDUCTION, EXTENSION AND CHANGE OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL

8.8 QUALITY CONFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

9 ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION

9.1 ANCILLARY SPECIFICATIONS

9.2 FORMS AND TEMPLATES

10 CHARTS

10.1 PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL FLOW CHART

REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL ESCC Basic Specification No. 25600 Page 1 of 16 | Issue 1 | June 2014 | | --- | --- | Document Custodian: European Space Agency – see [https://escies.org](https://escies.org) LEGAL DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT European Space Agency, Copyright © 2014 , All rights reserved. The European Space Agency disclaims any liability or responsibility, to any person or entity, with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the use and application of this ESCC publication. This publication, without prior permission of the European Space Agency and provided it is not used for a commercial purpose, may be: − copied in whole, in any medium, without alteration or modification. − copied in part, in any medium, provided that the ESCC document identification, comprising the ESCC symbol, document number and document issue, is removed. DOCUMENTATION CHANGE NOTICE (Refer to [https://escies.org](https://escies.org) for ESCC DCR content) | DCR No. | CHANGE DESCRIPTION | | --- | --- | | | | TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE 6 1.1 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS 6 2 TERMS, DEFINITIONS, ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS AND UNITS 6 2.1 DEFINITIONS 6 2.2 ABBREVIATIONS 6 3 INTRODUCTION 6 4 DEFINITION OF THE PROCESS CAPABILITY DOMAIN 7 4.1 CAPABILITY ABSTRACT 7 4.2 PROCESS IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT 7 5 EVALUATION OF THE SUPPLIER 8 5.1 GENERAL 8 5.2 SUPPLIER’S DESIGN FACILITIES 8 6 EVALUATION OF THE PROCESS CAPABILITY DOMAIN 8 6.1 GENERAL 8 6.2 EVALUATION TEST STRUCTURES 9 6.3 COMPLETION OF EVALUATION 9 7 PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL TESTING 9 7.1 GENERAL 9 7.2 TEST STRUCTURES FOR PCA TESTING 9 7.3 PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL TESTING 10 7.4 TEST REPORT 10 7.5 ESCC CERTIFICATION AND LISTING 10 8 PROCEDURES 10 8.1 REQUEST FOR PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL 10 8.2 VALIDITY OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL 11 8.3 EXTENSION OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL VALIDITY 11 8.4 ESCC RE-CERTIFICATION AND LISTING 11 8.5 LAPSE OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL VALIDITY 12 8.5.1 Renewal after Lapse of Process Capability Approval 12 8.6 LOSS, RESTRICTION OR SUSPENSION OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL 12 8.7 REDUCTION, EXTENSION AND CHANGE OF PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL 12 8.8 QUALITY CONFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS 13 8.8.1 Certificate of Conformity 13 8.8.2 Records 13 8.8.3 Failures 13 8.8.4 Alert Procedure 14 8.8.5 ESCC Non-Conformance System 14 9 ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION 14 9.1 ANCILLARY SPECIFICATIONS 14 9.2 FORMS AND TEMPLATES 14 10 CHARTS 15 10.1 PROCESS CAPABILITY APPROVAL FLOW CHART 15 1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE The purpose of this specification is to define the requirements for the Process Capability Approval (PCA) of suppliers involved in the manufacturing, assembly and test operations necessary for the provision of electrical, electronic, or electromechanical (EEE) components intended for space application. The certification given to a supplier for Process Capability Approval does not include nor enable the ESCC Qualification of his products. The ESCC Qualification of products may be achieved through methodologies specified in ESCC documents No. 20100, 24300 and 25400. 1.1 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS The following ESCC Specifications form part of, and shall be read in conjunction with, this specification. The relevant issues shall be those in effect on the date of commencement of the PCA of the Manufacturer. ESCC 20200 Component Manufacturer Evaluation. ESCC 21300 Terms, Definitions, Abbreviations, Symbols and Units. ESCC 22700 Requirements and Guidelines for the Process Identification Document. ESCC 22800 ESCC Non-Conformance Control System ESCC 23100 Recommendations on the Use of the ESCC Specification System for the Evaluation and Procurements of Unqualified Components. ESCC 24600 Minimum Quality Management System Requirements The applicable ancillary Basic Specifications for PCA. 2

FAQs

What does Process Capability Approval (PCA) cover for suppliers?

PCA grants a supplier approval status for a specified Process Capability Domain after completing a PCA programme. The programme establishes certified manufacturing lines with evaluated and certified materials and processes for producing space-grade components.

Does PCA certification include ESCC qualification of the supplier’s products?

No. Supplier PCA certification does not include or enable ESCC Qualification of products. Product qualification may be achieved through other ESCC documents specified in the specification.

What are the main phases of the ESCC PCA programme?

The PCA programme generally consists of four phases: (1) definition of the process capability domain and boundaries, (2) evaluation of the supplier, (3) evaluation of the process capability domain, and (4) PCA testing.

Aug 30, 2026

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