Simulation and Validation of a SpaceWire On-Board Data-Handling Network for the PLATO Mission

Abstract

PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) is a medium-class mission belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision programme. The mission payload is composed of 26 telescopes and cameras which will observe uninterruptedly stars like our Sun in order to identify new exoplanets candidates down to the range of Earth analogues. The images from the cameras are generated by several distributed Digital Processing Units (DPUs) connected together in a SpaceWire network and producing a large quantity of data to be processed by the Instrument Control Unit. The paper presents the results of the analyses and simulations performed using the Simulator for HI-Speed Networks (SHINE) with the objective to assess the on-board data network performance.• Data Processing Units (DPUs);

The PLATO Payload and Data Processing System Space Wire Network

“…Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of ICU data and power interfaces as well as its system architecture, as designed by Kayser Italia (ICU industrial Prime Contractor) following the assessment [5] of IngeniArs Srl, Pisa. The SpW routing packets between all the PLATO Payload units will be based on SpW logical addressing and the ICU, as the main SpaceWire Network Master, will specify highlevel routing changes due to failure and/or redundancy aspects.…”