Abstract
Today, the on-board Spacecraft (SC) communication requires an impressive network of massive wires, both in flight and in the Assembly Integration and Test (AIT) phase. Here, we present the design and the experimental characterization of novel Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) transceivers compatible with MIL-STD-1553B, which is the shared bus predominantly deployed in SCs. Each transceiver works as an interface that transports the bipolar Manchester-coded signal by converting it to/from the optical domain. These OWC interfaces can effectively reduce the overall weight and cost of the SC and can also largely decrease the AIT time. Since they are fully analog and do not need any microprocessors or Digital Signal Processing, they have a small footprint and a very low power consumption. We initially characterize the transceivers using a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal, then we used them to replace a cable and connect a pair of test units, transmitting MIL-STD-1553B signals: the measurements show that our solution has a good power budget (+65dB), which will allow the interoperability with MIL-STD-1553B boards in a wide range of scenarios. Furthermore, it is realized by means of commercially available components; it could also be implemented by using proven space-graded devices.
Highlights
V ARIOUS types of data bus are used today on Spacecrafts (SCs) for the intensive on-board communication among sensors and pieces of equipment [1]
All avionics buses are supported by huge amounts of wires so that around 8% of the total dry mass of a SC is due to the cables and electrical interfaces [4]
We present for the first time the design and the experimental characterization of these novel transparent OWC1553 interfaces: they prove that wireless transmission of MIL-STD-1553B signals is feasible and this result is achieved by transceivers that are realized by using commercially common components, and have limited size and low weight
Summary
V ARIOUS types of data bus are used today on Spacecrafts (SCs) for the intensive on-board communication among sensors and pieces of equipment [1]. All avionics buses are supported by huge amounts of wires so that around 8% of the total dry mass of a SC is due to the cables and electrical interfaces [4]. Comparable figures and issues are reported about wired networks on aircrafts, where similar solutions are deployed. Wired networks have other drawbacks: they require time and cost for routing, placing, and shielding the cables [5], [6]. There is clearly a high potential in replacing these wires by moving to wireless communications [7]–[9]. This is far to be achieved, the benefits in terms of costs would be remarkable [10]
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