Overview
ISO 13764:1996 - "Space data and information transfer systems - Standard formatted data units - Control authority procedures" - defines the requirements for Control Authority procedures that govern Standard Formatted Data Units (SFDUs) used in international space systems. Technically identical to CCSDS 630.0.B-1 (1993), the standard specifies the organizational roles, responsibilities and procedural framework needed to register, revise and disseminate SFDU data descriptions across agencies.
Key topics and requirements
- Control Authority organization: Establishes an internationally coordinated structure (CCSDS Secretariat, CA Agent and Member Agency Control Authorities/MACAOs) to manage SFDU data descriptions.
- Registration and dissemination: Procedures for registering data descriptions, making them available to users, and disseminating Control Authority reports.
- Revision control: Processes for proposing, reviewing and implementing revisions to registered data descriptions.
- Administrative procedures: Internal administration topics such as establishing/dissolving MACAOs, annual reporting, and candidate acceptability for membership.
- Standardization enablers: Specifies the need for uniform responsibilities, standard sets of interaction information, and support for standard data description languages, data structures, media and communication protocols to enable reliable international interchange.
Practical applications
ISO 13764 is directly applicable wherever standardized, interoperable space data interchange is required:
- Space agencies coordinating multinational missions who need a common registry for data formats and metadata.
- Mission systems architects and data managers implementing SFDU-based data products and archives.
- Ground-segment integrators and operations centers that ingest, process or distribute spacecraft telemetry, science data and product files.
- Standards bodies and implementers aligning agency-specific formats with an internationally recognized Control Authority process.
Using ISO 13764 helps reduce ambiguity in data description, ensure consistent versioning and ease international data sharing - improving reuse, long-term archiving and cross-agency interoperability of space data.
Related standards
- CCSDS 630.0.B-1 (1993) - Control Authority Procedures (technically identical)
- CCSDS 620.0-B-2 / ISO 12175:1994 - SFDU Structure and Construction Rules
- CCSDS 621.0-G-1 - SFDU Tutorial
- CCSDS 631.0-G-1 - Control Authority Procedures Tutorial
Keywords: ISO 13764, SFDU, Standard Formatted Data Units, Control Authority, CCSDS 630, space data standards, data description registration, data dissemination, MACAO, CA Agent.