Our congratulations to ArianeGroup: Europe’s new flagship launch vehicle Ariane 6 has successfully completed its first flight, once again providing Europe with independent access to space from its spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Further launches with both institutional and commercial payloads are already scheduled.
Ariane 6 represents a giant milestone for TTTech Aerospace whose highly reliable TTEController chips are integrated into the launcher’s avionics. The 400-pin, radiation-hardened TTEController HiRel has two variants, the TTESwitch Controller HiRel and the TTEEnd System Controller HiRel, which are used to connect more than 50 avionic units in Ariane 6 via a single, redundant TTEthernet® network. This network serves as the launcher’s ‘nervous system’, which transfers a wide range of safety-critical and non-critical data - reliably, safely, and securely. The ‘eyes’ of the launcher are the on-board cameras, and so video streams will also run through the data network. In order to achieve perfect real-time behavior and to avoid any impact on reliability, a new switch board will soon be used which is also based on TTech Aerospace’s TTESwitch Controller HiRel.
Ariane 6: a breakthrough project for TTTech Aerospace
Experiences from the cooperation with NASA and Honeywell on the NASA Orion program and strong partners like Airbus Defense and Space (back then EADS Astrium), as well as support from the Austrian Reasearch Promotion Agency (FFG), allowed TTTech Aerospace to join ESA’s Future Launcher’s Preparatory Programme (FLPP). The new launcher generation Ariane 6 had not been decided on then, but the FLPP-funded project became one of the main reasons for being chosen for the Ariane 6 program and a base for future space technology developments, explains Christian Fidi, General Manager, TTTech Aerospace:
“Ariane 6 can be called our breakthrough space project. We started on it as part of ESA’s FLPP in 2013, developing technology and solutions for the requirements of future launcher generations, here specifically adapting our chip IP for an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). The most important topics were radiation tolerance, high bandwidth and modularity allowing for simpler avionics software. These are key for all space programs, so we knew that what we developed as part of this activity, could be used for a long time and in different space applications.”
The component design experience gained during the FLPP program enabled TTTech Aerospace to further develop technologies and solutions and to bid on other ESA and NASA programs in the following years. Examples are the Lunar Gateway modules, for which TTTech Aerospace is now supplying complete box-level solutions together with Beyond Gravity Austria.
Fidi adds: “When developing technology, it’s important to be able to scale it and to further develop it for a variety of use cases. That’s one of our core competencies – safe, reliable networks are not only important in space, but in many other industries as well, from the energy sector to manufacturing, automotive, or railway. The FLPP and Ariane 6 projects taught us a lot about how to develop scalable, modular networking solutions for space – and we now have a portfolio that can be applied to launch vehicles, transfer vehicles, landers, orbital infrastructure, and human-rated spacecraft in particular.”
Determinism as enabler for a mixed-criticality network
Deterministic networks guarantee that all important data is delivered reliably and on time, which is extremely important in safety-critical applications in general, and for space programs in particular. Having further networks for non-critical data is a no-go for space applications where physical space is limited and every extra pound is extremely costly. The International Space Station is the historic exception here. Therefore, current space programs like NASA Artemis or Ariane 6 prefer to use a single, “mixed-criticality” data network.
Mixed-criticality means that safety-critical guidance, navigation, and control data can be delivered on the same data network and the same physical media as non-critical data (e.g., monitoring or video data). Therefore, mixed-criticality networks offer lower system cost and reduce the complexity of software and cabling setups.
Main selection criteria in launcher avionics
The TTEController HiRel used in Ariane 6’s avionics is a radiation-hardened COTS component that is considered one of the innovations in this launcher program. Its qualification followed the automotive standard AEC-Q100, which ensures adequate product quality for all environmental conditions except radiation, which was tested separately. The selection for the Ariane 6 program was based on the following criteria:
- Reduction of software costs: Thanks to simpler integration and simpler testing of modifications, lifetime cost savings can be achieved.
- Higher bandwidth: TTEthernet offers speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s per port. For launch vehicles, 100 Mbit/s are sufficient for all control traffic, telemetry, and two or three video streams. Higher bandwidth allows for expansion of the network and introduction of new functions, without increasing the complexity of the network.
- Modularity: Different variants of Ariane 6 can use the same network setup, i.e. no need to manage different versions (e.g. for Ariane 62 and 64). Also, the network can be expanded for new use cases like human spaceflight where a third data channel is required, or adding new sub-systems, while not impacting the reliability and safety of the digital backbone and the launcher avionics.
Modularity and scalability: a practical example
A great example for TTEthernet-based sub-systems that can easily be integrated into an existing TTEthernet network comes from Réaltra Space Systems Engineering. The Irish enterprise jointly develops a modular camera system and telemetry unit with TTTech Aerospace for the space transportation market. These new sub-systems can simply be integrated into the Ariane 6 launcher with minimum delta qualification and no impact on reliability. At the core of this unit will be a compact, light-weight switch board with either 12 or 20 Ethernet ports.
TTEthernet standards
Time-Triggered Ethernet technology was developed by TTTech and then standardized together with NASA and Honeywell in the internationally recognized networking standard SAE AS6802 (Time-Triggered Ethernet) and the corresponding ESA-funded ECSS standard. TTEthernet is used in NASA Artemis, and has already flown, among others, on the NASA Orion spacecraft.
TTTech Aerospace provides an array of mature, reliable TTEthernet solutions for the space market. With locations in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, and in the USA, specifically Houston, TX, our experts are never far away from our customers.
Would you like to know more?
Read more
- Read our launch vehicle case study
- Read the Lunar Gateway case study
- Find out more about our collaboration with Réaltra
- TTEController HiRel – radiation-hardened component for launcher avionics
