For European space missions the importance of electric propulsion is strongly growing and has recently experienced a real burst in the telecom market. The initial drivers of this development were programs of the European Space Agency and projects of the European national space agencies. In addition, electric propulsion is now on the priority list of European commercial satellite manufacturers. Actual programs target orbit raising and station keeping with full electric propulsion for telecom satellites. European space industry, represented by individual companies, has developed specific and generic solutions for the electronics dedicated to powering and controlling electric propulsion systems. The European Space Agency and the European Union providing support for enabling technology related to Power Processing Units (PPUs) and increasing competitiveness.

The typical advantages of electric propulsion are known for long and and an increasing number of spacecrafts is equipped with EP for North-South-Station Keeping, orbit transfer or as primary propulsion system in case of interplanetary probes. An new and emerging field is the high precision positioning and orbit control of spacecrafts. Especially formation flying benefits from the high accuracy in thrust of EP systems. Challenging missions and their demands for the propulsion system are described. The description highlights the need of miniaturised electric propulsion systems. Amoung all the different EP concepts, radiofrequency ion thrusters show excellent scalability,also for down scaling. Astrium, University of Giesen and their partners have been working in the field of radio-frequency propulsion technology for long. Their approach, bases on a flight proven technology is presented. The basic principle is explained together with the technology's heritage. Test results complete the publication.

In quantitative financial stability analysis, the link between the macroeconomic environment and credit risk is of particular importance when assessing the risk hidden in loan portfolios. Macroeconomic stress testing, in particular, which aims at measuring the impact of an economic crisis on individual banks or on the entire financial system, depends on means to quantitatively assess this link. Hence, the objective of this paper is to provide a methodological update of the OeNB’s previous credit risk model that improves the capture of the relation between macroeconomic variables and probabilities of default for the main Austrian corporate sectors. In addition to the standard model based on individual macroeconomic variables, the paper explores solutions to two important challenges: first, the challenge related to the exploitation of potential information inherent in a larger macroeconomic data set and second, the problem that accounts for potential nonlinearity in the relation between credit and business cycles. The first issue is addressed via a regression model based on a principal components analysis that takes in a wider range of macroeconomic variables than commonly practiced. The second issue is addressed via a threshold approach. This paper presents the estimation results for the three different models and discusses them on the basis of an illustrative example.

Many of ESA’s and NASA’s future missions are based on Formation flying, Fine attitude control and (fine) Drag compensation. As prominent examples one could mention LISA, DARWIN, PROBA-III, etc. For all these applications there is a need for propulsion system with: - High thrust accuracy and - High thrust controllability Taking into account, that up to 16 of these thrusters are needed for every space craft, there would be other requirements necessary: - Low mass, - High ISP, - Low power consumption All these requirements combined with high mission durations of up to 10 years, which enforce a life time of over 20,000hrs show the challenges, which the thruster and system designers are confronted with. University of Giessen started 2004 the works on micro Newton ion thrusters based on Radio frequency discharge. The works leaded to a miniaturized RF ion source with very low power consumption and mass, which is under industrialization to higher TR Levels under ESA contracts. The performance of such a small thruster will be presented in this paper. From the other side the whole system architecture for such a propulsion system will be discussed.

This study investigates the relevance of network topology for the stability of payment systems in the face of operational shocks. The analysis is based on a large number of simulations of the Austrian large-value payment system ARTIS that quantify the contagion impact of operational shocks at participants’ sites. It uncovers that only few accounts are systemically important. We also find that network indicators at the node level can have some explanatory power, which is higher when the analysis focuses on contagion measured by the number of banks with unsettled payments than on that measured by the value of unsettled payments. The explanatory power is, however, lower than that of the more traditional measures of node activity(value and volume) of payments. At this stage of our research, network indicators at the network level seem to be of limited use for stability analysis.

This paper presents the methodology, scenarios and results of the stress tests conducted for the update of Austria's Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2007. The focus of the paper lies in particular on the following two macroeconomic stress scenarios: (a) a regional shock in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe hitting Austrian banks through their large exposure in the region, and (b) a global downturn in economic activity causing a deterioration of Austrian banks' domestic loan portfolios, whereby in the second scenario, contagion risk within the Austrian interbank market was also taken into account. Stress test calculations were performed by the OeNB for all Austrian banks (top-down approach) as well as by the six largest Austrian banking groups for their respective exposure (bottom-up approach). The pa- per describes the methodologies for scenario construction and the stress tests themselves and then discusses the scenarios as well as the stress test results in detail, including a comparison of the two approaches. Finally, the paper presents the results of additional sensitivity stress tests for credit risk emanating from foreign currency lending, for the most important catego- ries of market risk and for liquidity risk. Overall, the update of Austria's FSAP 2007 confirmed the results of previous stress testing exercises, in particular for the large Austrian banking groups that show considerable shock resistance mainly as a result of their generally sound capital buffers and high profitability.

For European space missions the importance of electric propulsion is strongly growing and has recently experienced a real burst in the telecom market. The initial drivers of this development were programs of the European Space Agency and projects of the European national space agencies. In addition, electric propulsion is now on the priority list of European commercial satellite manufacturers. Actual programs target orbit raising and station keeping with full electric propulsion for telecom satellites. European space industry, represented by individual companies, has developed specific and generic solutions for the electronics dedicated to powering and controlling electric propulsion systems. The European Space Agency and the European Union providing support for enabling technology related to Power Processing Units (PPUs) and increasing competitiveness. I. European Missions and Technology HE first European space mission with electric propulsion has been flown in 1992. Since this time a variety of electric propulsion (EP) concepts have been studied and many of them have been implemented in recent, actual and coming missions. Latest successful milestone in European EP achievements is the GOCE satellite operating with the QinetiQ T5 ion engines for drag compensation in low earth orbit. It has reached its end of life after a very successful mission from 2009 to 2013. Another great example is AlphaSat where electric propulsion is used for NorthSouth Station Keeping (NSSK), which is in orbit since July 2013. Close to launch are the BepiColombo and Small Geo spacecrafts. A key element accompanying the various thruster evolutions is the development of electronic 1 Earth Explorer Missions Department, matthias.gollor@esa.int, AIAA Member 2 Electrical Engineering Department, andreas.franke@esa.int. 3 CEO, w.dechent@asp-equipment.de. 4 Lead Engineer, u.schwab@asp-equipment.de. 5 Data Handling & Power Conversion Department, guillaume.glorieux@airbus.com. 6 Data Handling & Power Conversion Department, michael.boss@airbus.com. 7 Data Handling & Power Conversion Department, nicoletta.wagner@airbus.com. 8 Electric Propulsion Technical Management, Javier.Palencia@airbus.com. 9 Space Platform and Robotics Engineering, paolo.galantini@selex-es.com. 10 Sales and Marketing Manager, giovanni.tuccio@sitael.com. 11 PPU Product Line Management, eric.bourguignon@thalesaleniaspace.com. T American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 1 equipment, dedicated to operate the thrusters by providing power, often at high voltage level, with their challenging impedance behavior and demanding control functions. European electric propulsion thrusters are developed and/or manufactured by the companies AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology) Seibersdorf in Austria (Indium-FEEP, Pulsed Plasma Thruster), AIRBUS-DS in Germany (RIT with RIT-10 and RIT-22, μN-RIT, Indium FEEP with AIT Seibersdorf), AIRBUS-DS in UK with the ROS2000 (Hall Effect Thruster), SITAEL in Italy (Cesium-FEEP, HT 100, HT 400, HT 5k Hall Effect Thrusters, and xenonoptimized resistojets and arcjets) SNECMA in France with the PPS-1350-G, PPS-1350-E, PPS-5000 (Hall Effect Thrusters), QinetiQ in UK with the T5 and T6 Kaufmann ion engines and Thales in Germany (HEMP-T 3050). Furthermore, Hall Effect thrusters (SPT-100) from FAKEL in Russia are also used. Companies currently providing highly developed products of PSCU and PPU electronic equipment in Europe are: • ASP Advanced Space Power Equipment, Germany • CRISA in Tres Cantos, Spain • Airbus DS in Friedrichshafen, Germany • Airbus DS in Elancourt, France • Selex ES (formerly Galileo Avionica and Selex Galileo) in Nerviano, Italy • SITAEL in Pisa/Bari, Italy • Thales Alenia Space Belgium (ETCA) in Charleroi, Belgium The Table 1 gives an overview of actual and recent European electronics developments for EP with reference to thruster applications and status. More details on the mission and the related development on the electronics are given in the following chapters. Details on the first successful mission ARTEMIS and the PCU developed by Selex ES driving the RIT-10 can be found in reference . Today the future of Electric Propulsion is represented in the actual roadmaps of the European Space Agency, by the national agendas of several ESA member states and has been recognized as topic of the Technology Program of the European Commission. I. ASP Advanced Space Power Equipment GmbH in Germany HE company has been founded in 2002 by experienced space power engineers and has established a broad range of space power products in the meantime. For electric propulsion a development was made regarding a PPU for iMPD thrusters . The focus of the development is put on a high efficient light weight design. The PPU provides two independent high voltages for the iMPD thrusters. The charge output provides a voltage of 1,3kV to charge up the capacitor of the iMPD. This ignition output provides a voltage of 20kV and is connected to the cathode of the iMPD in order to ignite the thruster. A special charge up circuitry provides a constant power charge up to the capacitor with the advantages of reduced required peak power at the input and reduced input filter requirements. For safety reasons a proper insulation is mandatory on the parts with High Voltage. Internal needed low level auxiliary voltages are generated by the PPU itself. The Input Voltage range is 24 to 32 V, input power is 100Wmax and the Ignition Frequency 1Hz. The PPU is designed to charge up the capacitor in less than 1s. This allows a firing rate of the thruster of 1Hz. The efficiency of the PPU is approx. 85%. In standby mode the PPU consumes less than 1.3W. The PPU is controlled via three galvanic isolated bi-level commands via optocouplers inside the PPU. For monitoring the status of the PPU three galvanic isolated open collector and two analog signals are provided. The PPU has been developed to support researching activities in the context of the Magneto-Plasma Dynamic thruster. It fulfills the TRL of an elegant breadboard. The model is shown in Figure 1. The design is principally fit for space use, even if that is not foreseen for this particular PPU. In order to provide a cost effective solution commercial level EEE parts will be applied. The PPU was delivered in 2012. T Figure 1 PPU for an iMPD Thruster American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2 Table 1 (Part 1): Overview of European Propulsion Electronic Developments and Applications Company Equipment Max. Voltage Power Application/Functionality Year of Delivery/Use Status ASP (Germany) PPU for iMPD 20kV& 1.3kV 100W EBB for thruster research (design & packaging suitable for space) 2012 Elegant Breadboard

*† Astrium has built electronic equipments for electric propulsion systems over many years. Contributions were made to the programs EURECA, GOCE, and AlphaBus. This has formed the basis for the development of “Generic High Voltage Power Supply – Next Generation” (HVPS-NG) providing a “tool box” of functional blocks and modules – with an very efficient high voltage converter as core element. By selecting from the choice of functional blocks, the specific requirements of a thruster type can be easily accommodated. An overall efficiency 97% at 1,000 V operating voltage and 1,400 W power has been demonstrated for a Generic HVPS together with a HEMP3050 plasma thruster in a common thermal vacuum test. The qualification of complete propulsion electronics is going to be performed by a flight opportunity in a German On-Orbit Demonstration Program on-board the innovative German telecom platform SGEO. This platform will give the option to provide tailored versions of the HVPS to other electric propulsion systems onboard. A derived development – a high voltage power supply for a µN-RIT – is currently being designed and is considered to have an on-orbit verification opportunity by the ESA mission PROBA-3.

RIT-µX is a radio frequency ion engine for micro propulsion applications. The ionization of the propellant by electro magnetic fields offers inherently highest thrust control, -stability and resolution. The function principle of the engine and the specific advantages are explained and the layout of a propulsion system is presented. Potential missions are described and selected test results are given.

In 2002 the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) launched in parallel several projects to develop modern tools for systemic financial stability analysis, off-site banking supervision and supervisory data analysis. In these projects the OeNB’s expertise in financial analysis and research was combined with expertise from the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) and from academia. Systemic Risk Monitor (SRM) is part of this effort. SRM is a model to analyze banking supervision data and data from the Major Loans Register collected at the OeNB in an integrated quantitative risk management framework to assess systemic risk in the Austrian banking system at a quarterly frequency. SRM is also used to perform regular stress testing exercises. This paper gives an overview of the general ideas used by SRM and shows some of its applications to a recent Austrian dataset.

High Voltage Power Modules for Electrical Propulsion have been developed for the European Space Agency`s GOCE and ALPHABUS missions, featuring KaufmannType Ion Thrusters with power levels between 520W and 4.8 kW and output voltages from 1200V to 2000V. Based on these developments a new concept has been established for modular generic power modules being able to drive various types of ion thrusters, including new HEMP technology. Initial result have demonstrated that module efficiency can be increased to 97% by introduction of the Flattop ZVS converter especially designed for high voltage applications.