An adaptive design to assess the reliability of the pyrotechnic control subsystem in opening the solar array

The pyrotechnic control subsystem plays an important role in opening the solar array of a satellite. Assessing the reliability of the subsystem requires determining the level of a control factor that is needed to cause the desired response and energy output with high probability. A two-phase adaptive design to estimate the level of interest is proposed and studied. The convergence of the design is obtained. A simulation study shows that the estimate is very close to its population value and is robust to the initial guess of the design. As an application, the design is used to assess the reliability of a real pyrotechnic control subsystem.