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SpaceWire is a spacecraft communication network based in part on the IEEE 1355 standard of communications. It is coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with international space agencies including NASA, JAXA, and RKA.

Within a SpaceWire network the nodes are connected through low-cost, low-latency, full-duplex, point-to-point serial links, and packet switching wormhole routing routers.

Architecture

Physical layer

SpaceWire's modulation and data formats generally follow the data strobe encoding - differential ended signaling (DS-DE) part of the IEEE Std 1355-1995. SpaceWire utilizes asynchronous communication and allows speeds between 2 Mbit/s and 200 Mbit/s, with initial signalling rate of 10 Mbit/s. DS-DE is well-favored because it describes modulation, bit formats, routing, flow control, and error detection in hardware, with little need for software. SpaceWire also has very low error rates, deterministic system behavior, and relatively simple digital electronics. SpaceWire replaced old PECL differential drivers in the physical layer of IEEE 1355 DS-DE by low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS). SpaceWire also proposes the use of space-qualified 9-pin connectors.

SpaceWire and IEEE 1355 DS-DE allows for a wider set of speeds for data transmission, and some new features for automatic failover. The fail-over features let data find alternate routes, so a spacecraft can have multiple data buses, and be made fault-tolerant. SpaceWire also allows the propagation of time interrupts over SpaceWire links, eliminating the need for separate time discretes.

Link layer

Each transferred character starts with a parity bit and a data-control flag bit. If data-control flag is a 0-bit, an 8-bit LSB character follows. Otherwise one of the control codes, including end of packet (EOP).

Network layer

The network data frames look as follows:

One or more address bytes are used for the routing. Addresses are either physical ones (0–31), or logical ones. The difference is that the physical addresses are deleted from the frame header during routing - which is used for hop-based routing (based on path specified in the frame itself). Logical addresses may be deleted as well, depending on the router configuration.

Interconnection

The hardware devices may be connected either directly, or via a SpaceWire router. In the former case, usually pairs of devices are used to guarantee a fail-safe operation, which is handled by the software.

A SpaceWire router is usually a crossbar switch-type device, operating in wormhole switching mode. This also may limit the speed of the communication to the lowest common speed. The routing decisions are based on the programmed routing table and the initial incoming frame contents.

Uses

SpaceWire is used all around the globe. Its use began primarily in ESA projects, but it is currently used by NASA, JAXA, RKA, and many other organizations and companies. Some NASA projects using it include the James Webb Space Telescope, Swift's Burst Alert Telescope, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LCROSS, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R), and the SCaN Testbed, previously known as the Communications, Navigation, and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (CoNNeCT). It has also been selected by the United States Department of Defense for Operationally Responsive Space. SpaceWire initiatives are being coordinated between several space agencies in the frame of Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) in order to extend its communication model to the network and transport layers of the OSI model.

SpaceWire supports highly fault-tolerant networks and systems, which is one reason for its popularity.

Protocols

The ESA has a draft specification in place for the Protocol ID.

The following Protocol ID's have been assigned in ECSS-E-ST-50-11:

References

1. "SpaceWire's User Guide" (PDF). Star-dundee.com. Retrieved 27 October 2019. chapter 3.3.5
2. "SpaceWire Characters". Star-dundee.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
3. "Radiation-Tolerant 10x SpaceWire Router" (PDF). Gaisler.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
4. "Who Uses SpaceWire? - STAR-Dundee". Star-dundee.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
5. Dr Barry M Cook; Paul Walker. "Ethernet over SpaceWire - software issues". 4links.co.uk, p. 2 Archived 2019-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Space Packet Transfer Protocol" (PDF). Public.ccsds.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.

Other sources

• ECSS-E-ST-50-12C - SpaceWire - Links, nodes, routers, and networks, ESA-ESTEC.
• ECSS-E-50-12A (SUPERSEDED only document number has been changed to ECSS-E-ST-50-12C) SpaceWire - Nodes, links, and networks, ESA-ESTEC.
• ECSS-E-ST-50-11C Draft 1.3 "Space engineering - SpaceWire protocols"

External links

This section's use of external links may not follow Misplaced Pages's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (July 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• SpaceWire Homepage (ESA)
• European Cooperation for Space Standardisation - ECSS
• 4Links Publications
• International SpaceWire Conference 2007
• International SpaceWire Conference 2008
• International SpaceWire Conference 2010
• International SpaceWire Conference 2011
• International SpaceWire Conference 2013
• STAR-Dundee Knowledge Database
• http://www.interfacebus.com/SpaceWire_Avionics_Bus.html

SpaceWire IP Cores:

• 4Links
• STAR-Dundee
• Aeroflex Gaisler
• Astrium SpaceWire RMAP
• CEA IRFU
• CESR CNRS IRAP (CeCILL-C license)
• NASA Goddard - tech transfer
• OpenCores.org (SpaceWire and SpaceWire Light)
• SpaceWire UK
• European Space Agency
• PnP Innovations

Articles:

• NASA article on SpaceWire used on James Webb Space Telescope

v t e James Webb Space Telescope
Timeline of JWST
Instruments and sensors	Fine Guidance Sensor and Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph Mid-Infrared Instrument Near-Infrared Camera Near-Infrared Spectrograph
Elements	Integrated Science Instrument Module Optical Telescope Element (mirrors) Spacecraft bus Sunshield
Stages	Launch and commissioning (2021-2022) Ariane flight VA256
Images	Webb's First Deep Field (2022)
Discoveries	CEERS-93316 (2022) GLASS-z12 (2022) JADES-GS-z13-0 (2022) LHS 475 b (2023) AzTECC71 (2023)
Institutions	NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Space Telescope Science Institute European Space Agency Canadian Space Agency
Related	SpaceWire OTE Pathfinder James E. Webb (namesake) List of deep fields Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine (2023 documentary)
Category

• Computer buses
• ECSS standards
• Fault-tolerant computer systems
• James Webb Space Telescope