Space Plug-and-Play Compatible Wireless Avionics

Weight, reliability and cost are important factors in the design of launch vehicles. The weight of wire harnesses, connectors and stage separation devices can make up a significant portion of the launch vehicle. Qualification of these components adds additional cost and schedule delays. Harnesses and connectors are subject to operational concerns such as wire crosses, insulation damage due to thermal or vibration effects, and limited mate/de-mate cycles for connectors. Design considerations such as minimum harness bend radii, separation forces required for connectors, and securing harnesses to withstand vibration add to the development and qualification costs. Furthermore, the variable nature of payloads imposes a wide variety of interface requirements to the launch vehicle. To address this need, Intelligent Automation Incorporated (IAI) is developing an Ultra Wideband (UWB) radio with a redundant Power Line Communications (PLC) link that can replace communication harnessing in any Ethernet based launch vehicle. The anticipated result of the Phase II effort is a prototype system, composed of redundant UWB radio and PLC links, that has operated successfully during flight simulation on a launch vehicle test bed.