SpaceWire: spacecraft onboard data-handling network

The SpaceWire data-handling network is being used on many ESA, NASA and JAXA spacecraft and by other space agencies, research organisations and space industry across the world. Space Wire is designed to connect together high data-rate sensors, processing units, memory sub-systems and the down link telemetry sub-system. It provides high-speed (2 Mbits/s to 200 Mbits/s), bi-directional, full-duplex, data links which connect the SpaceWire enabled equipment. Networks can be built to suit particular applications using point-to-point data links and routing switches. Application information is sent along a SpaceWire link in discrete packets. One of the main advantages of SpaceWire is its low complexity (low gate count) and the fact that it can be implemented easily in both ASICs and FPGAs. SpaceWire is supported by several radiation tolerant ASICs designed by or for ESA, NASA and JAXA, and extensive test and development equipment is available. This paper provides an introduction to SpaceWire aimed at project managers and system engineers. It describes how SpaceWire can be used to implement data-handling architectures matched to mission requirements and illustrates this with some examples. Finally an overview of the latest developments in SpaceWire is included.