Space

BAE SYSTEMS PRODUCES FIRST RADIATION-HARDENED SINGLE-CHIP SPACEWIRE INTERFACE

28 Nov 2007 | Ref. 374/2007
MANASSAS, Virginia — BAE Systems has produced a radiation-hardened single-chip SpaceWire interface that performs the functions of multiple chips at a fraction of the size, saving cost, space, weight, and power. BAE Systems is the first company to produce a chip that is fully compliant to SpaceWire standards.

“Through a partnership with NASA, our SpaceWire interface chip has been accepted on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Missions," said Tim Scott, national sales manager for space components at BAE Systems. “By integrating multiple functions, our single-chip solution eliminates the need for an additional bus for command and control by enabling the reliable transport of SpaceWire high-speed serial links.”

SpaceWire is a spacecraft communication network coordinated by the European Space Agency. It also is used in some NASA spacecraft.

The BAE Systems interface chip is radiation-hardened to 200 krad(Si) total dose, measures less than 1E-9 upsets/bit-day SEU, and is latch-up immune. The chip consists of four SpaceWire ports and two peripheral component interconnect busses connected by a six-port router, a multi-gigabyte memory interface supported by a direct memory access controller, and an embedded microcontroller usable for packet processing or standalone operation.

About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier global defense and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. BAE Systems, with 96,000 employees worldwide, had 2006 sales that exceeded $27 billion on a pro forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings, Inc. for the whole of 2006.

For further information, please contact:
Karen Spiller, BAE Systems
Tel: +1 603 885 2818 Mobile: +1 603 566 2090
karen.spiller@baesystems.com

Shannon Smith, BAE Systems
Tel: +1 703 907 8259 Mobile: +1 703 967 3854
shannon.n.smith@baesystems.com
www.baesystems.com