Effectivity: Its Application to a Long-Lived Space System

This paper proposes a measure of equipment dependability (reliability) that is related to statistical loss and is suitable for application to complex systems. The relation of this concept, termed effectivity, to other measures is explained and its use is illustrated by application to a specific space system. A prediction of effectivity is described and demonstrated using analytical means and also by applying a novel Monte-Carlo procedure. The results of testing are also presented and compared with the predicted values.