Well-Suited to Missions Requiring Reconfigurable Assets
BAE Systems has delivered its first shipment of next-generation radiation-hardened software-defined radios (SDR) to Lockheed Martin Space, the company announced on 1 July.
The radios, enabled by BAE Systems’ RAD5545 computer, provide spacecraft with the performance, availability, reliability and on-board signals processing capacity needed to support future space missions — from planetary exploration to communications, national security, surveillance and weather missions.
“Our RAD5545 software-defined radios are ideal for any mission requiring reconfigurable radio processing,” commented Ricardo Gonzalez, Director of Space Systems at BAE Systems. “The radios can be easily modified to address various reconfigurable processing solutions.”
BAE Systems’ SDR is anchored by the RAD5545 single board computer (SBC), providing the most advanced radiation-hardened quad core general purpose processing solution available today to address future threats on a variety of missions. The system leverages modular and standard building blocks, including a SpaceVPX chassis and backplane electrical connectors, Serial RapidIO and Spacewire interfaces and a fully supported expansion port for a custom interface card.
Adhering to industry standards, this flexible and adaptable architecture supports reconfiguration for other missions by simply swapping out SpaceVPX modules, a highly desirable feature in current space hardware.
BAE Systems’ next-generation SDR, centred around the RAD5545 computer, represent a significant advance in high reliability reconfigurable electronics systems. Increased processing power and a radiation-hardened design combine for a product line that can enable increased mission flexibility.
The RAD5545 SBC delivers exponential improvements in size, speed and power efficiency over its predecessor SBCs. The company also offers a suite of radiation-hardened Serial RapidIO network products that complement the RAD5545 SBC and allow the user to efficiently manage and route data through a system. Products include the RADNET 1848-PS, an 18-Port RapidIO packet switch, the RADNET 1616-XP Crosspoint, a protocol-agnostic SerDes signal circuit switch and replicator and the RADNET SRIO-EP, a Serial RapidIO endpoint.
