Semiconductors to MIL Spec for space use are MIL 883 level S. They are made
in the same way on the same production line as the common or garden commercial
variety (in most firms, anyway), but just get a lot of extra inspection,
which tends to be what costs. How much extra reliability you really get is
probably arguable in any one case, although averaged over a lot of units, it
should show up.
But one of the OSCAR satellites had a command rx which used a Plessey
SL6640, and that was not only a standard part, but it came from some unmarked
devices which had been kicking around in a box in an engineer's drawer for some
years, and not even the batch number was known! This was because a launch was
offered at short notice, and the design was for a SL6640: the device was
obsolete, and there wasn't time to redesign and test the rx.
Worked perfectly until the satellite eventually burned up on re-entry......
For prices, you should also try parts for implanted medical devices like
pacemakers. A crystal ordinarily costing $2 comes in at about $15......a
1000pF
X5U chip capacitor in 0204 size is around $2.
73
Peter G3RZP
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