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Prior to this phase, subsystems which make the system have been defined. Requirements and verification tests for the subsystems are laid down. Functions for each of the subsystems are identified and suitable concepts have been selected in order to achieve these functions. In the development phase, these concepts are further refined, specifically for the system to be designed. Details regarding the realization of the system have to be finalized, in this phase. <br/> <br/>
One of the ways to refine the concepts is to represent the functions to be achieved in terms of flow diagrams. This is explained by the following example. The electrical subsystem is responsible to ensure the supply of power to the system. For this example, let’s assume that uninterrupted supply of 1 A current is needed at 5 V. Generation and regulation of power are functions which are to be met by the electrical subsystem. This can be represented using the following schematic: <br/><br/>
[[File:Diag1.png|center|400px]]
Note that the output from power regulation is passed on to relevant sections of the system. At the end of power regulation, 1 A current should be available at 5 V. This is the power of 5W. Let the power generation block give an output of yA at xV and this is to be converted to 1A at 5V by the power regulation block. Please note that, until this stage, we have not selected concepts for each of the blocks. Several concepts of power generation have been discussed [[Power Generation | here]]. Based on the analysis, let solar power be selected as a concept for the power generation. Solar power is harnessed by using solar panels. The amount of power generated will depend on the following factors:
*Configuration of solar panels - number of cells in series and parallel on each panel and the interconnection between panels, if there are multiple panels.
*A prototype could be of a part of the system - Final PCBs of the satellite may be quite complex - in terms of design as well as using them. While designing them, various sections of the PCB can be developed separately. This allows design, fabrication and testing of each section of the PCB to proceed in a parallel fashion.
*A prototype could be to better understand and explore a part of the system - If a certain piece of electronic hardware is to be part of the system and the team is unfamiliar with it, for example, the GPS module, then making a prototype PCB to interface the GPS module, could help the team gain some experience. Feedback can be used to improve the design.
There may be a need to design and develop certain auxiliary systems which will be used for testing the parts of the system or in some cases, the system as a whole. Vibration shaker tables, thermal-vacuum chambers are examples of such auxiliary systems which have been developed over the years and used in the testing. These are typically not mission-specific. There may be a need to develop some system-specific auxiliary systems. For example, for the Pratham satellite, a checkout system was developed. This checkout system was used during the thermo-vac tests to log data from the satellite and to monitor the health of the system. This checkout system was developed specifically for the Pratham satellite.
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