A new space race is on, and the Moon will be a stepping stone for further exploration into deep space. This time, the focus lies on establishing a presence in space beyond anything that has been done before. As more humans travel to space to establish outposts in lunar orbit like the NASA Gateway, or future settlements on the Moon, transportation to and in space increases in importance and opens new opportunities.
Réaltra Space Systems Engineering, an Irish-based enterprise, and TTTech Aerospace are jointly developing a modular TTEthernet switch for the space transportation market and low-earth orbital (LEO) infrastructure.
The development is part of the European Space Agency’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP), which provides opportunities for new business, collaborations, and product development within the European space industry. TTTech is extremely thankful for the financial support by Austria’s Research Promotion Agency (FFG) which enables this and other ESA development activities.
Under the FLPP program’s activity, TTTech Aerospace and Réaltra are bringing their hardware and software expertise together to develop an affordable, highly reliable TTEthernet switch to meet the requirements of the launcher market. The switch will integrate TTTech Aerospace’s qualified radiation tolerant TTESwitch Controller ASIC, which is also used in the data network of Ariane 6, ESA’s new flagship launch vehicle.
TTEthernet is a commercial implementation of Deterministic Ethernet. It uniquely allows both safety-critical and regular data to be transmitted on the same physical medium without interference. This reduces system complexity, cabling, and cost.
Werner Köstler, Member of the Executive Board – Aerospace at TTTech, comments: “We are excited to work with Réaltra on their compact TTEthernet platform which is suited for both launch vehicles and small satellites. TTTech Aerospace has pioneered the use of TTEthernet in space applications and welcomes this further widening of the European eco-system for TTEthernet-based avionics.”
Find out more:
- Read Réaltra’s press release: Réaltra joins forces with TTTech to develop new Time-Triggered Ethernet system for future space missions
- Ariane 6 case study
- TTTech Aerospace’s highly reliable TTEthernet controllers in Ariane 6’s avionics system
- TTEthernet controllers for space enter series production
- Austrian Ministry of Climate Action (BMK) and Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) support Austrian companies in winning international space contracts
- Product: TTESwitch Controller HiRel
