Aitech’s Space-Ready Orbital Systems Enhance Capabilities in Space Applications

COTS-based technologies provide high computing and connectivity performance for systems across all orbit levels.

Technology Highlights:

COTS space-ready systems provide improved reliability and real-time situational awareness to ensure space superiority

Space Digital Backbone enables seamless integration and high-speed, reliable, secure connectivity between internal and external communications systems throughout all levels of orbit.

Aitech Systems has expanded its space-rated unified system architectures to meet the growing demands for shorter development times and lower costs among satellite busses, subsystems, and payloads.

Using a Space Digital Backbone (DBB) approach, which provides a flexible, scalable communication pathway for the increasing number of IoT (Internet of Things) technologies being implemented into space missions, the company offers a selection of space-rated subsystems for common space platforms:

• Earth Observation: Integrated and qualified hardware and software, along with the engineering analysis of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) space-ready systems, enable improved reliability, real-time data processing, high-resolution high-resolution imagery, and rapid situational awareness for space superiority.
• Communication: The space DBB enables seamless integration and high-speed, reliable, secure connectivity between internal/external communications systems, cameras, local edge computing, and shared storage elements throughout all levels of orbit.
• Communications, Computation & Data Handling (CCD&H): I/O boards are used to dedicate multiple high-speed data streams and provide high-capacity memory to reduce latency, empowering payload sharing and interface satellite buses, satellite swarm, constellation positional, and mission management.
• Power Control: To achieve the high reliability needed for mission-critical systems, power control subsystems are added to subsystem controllers to limit the ultimate output power and the power on/off switching times to prevent transients from coupling to the system backplane.
• Robotics: This technology provides power and signals to control a motor or servo device, enabling autonomy and improved decision-making across space applications and allowing for greater adaptability in rugged conditions.

Ralph Grundler, Director of Space Business Development and Space R&D at Aitech, commented, “Accelerated timelines in space innovations have led to the transition from custom space-qualified systems that require extensive design, testing, and qualification processes to economical COTS technologies without sacrificing key performance indicators of radiation tolerance, reliability, spaceflight pedigree, and risk management.”

Space-ready systems with high computing and connectivity performance are fueling the future of space exploration. At Aitech, we harness the power of scalable, versatile interconnects and open standards-based computing using COTS to provide reliability within space electronic systems in critical areas, including Earth observation, computation and data handling, and communication.