With the development of the global aerospace industry, more and more projects require highly reliable "space-grade" chips and a stable supply chain. Recently, TTTech and STMicroelectronics celebrated seven years of cooperation in the aerospace field. The advanced, secure and reliable network chips and platform solutions developed by TTTech using ST chips have been deployed in major commercial and scientific exploration projects in the aerospace industry. After the first chip jointly developed by TTTech and ST was selected by the Ariane 6 launch vehicle project, the second chip optimized for the harsh environment of outer space has been selected by NASA's Artemis program. The component Gateway is selected by the space station.
Georg Kopetz, CEO of TTTech, said: "We are witnessing the advent of a new space age. The space market has received significant commercial financing and government investment in the market is increasing. The market is driven by global Internet access and Earth observation satellites. The demand for constellations is growing. At the same time, international cooperation projects such as the NASA Artemis human spaceflight program Gateway space station are advancing space travel and the development of new industrial projects, such as lunar homes and manned vehicles. These investments have also increased the demand for high-tech , Safe and reliable digital communication solutions, which is our core competence. TTTech is proud to participate in these actions, and cooperate with leading technology companies like ST to shape the future of the space market together.”
Vincent Fraisse, General Manager of STMicroelectronics RF and Communications Division, said: "Cutting-edge technology is a necessary condition to realize the vision of the Internet in outer space. By cooperating with market leaders such as space agencies and TTTech, ST is helping the development of the aerospace industry. As part of this cooperation As part of this, we have developed two innovative products on the basis of the same chip, one product can provide high reliability for the launch vehicle project with a short life but is very difficult, and the other product can be used in the extremely harsh environment of outer space Flying 15-year long-life products. As a semiconductor vertically integrated manufacturer (IDM), ST will provide this transforming market with decades of accumulated high-reliability semiconductor expertise, and through the company's front-end in Europe and back-end manufacturing capabilities to ensure customer supply security."
In 2021, TTTech and ST completed the development, commercialization and customer test validation of a highly integrated, radiation-hardened TTEthernet® network controller chip. These chips are now used in avionics systems for several launch vehicle and robotics projects, including the Ariane 6 launch vehicle project and the NASA Gateway capsule.
Specifically, TTTech and ST are participating in the development activities of the Ariane 6 avionics backbone system, and the challenge for both parties is to develop and test a short life cycle solution suitable for the harsh conditions of rocket launch. The Ariane 6 European launch vehicle system was commissioned by the European Space Agency to develop the Ariane Group and is still in the testing phase. The chips and associated software jointly developed by TTTech and ST are integrated into more than 50 avionics devices, which are all connected to a redundant TTEthernet® network, the "nervous system" of the launch vehicle.
The second chip of the cooperation between the two parties will use a hermetic ceramic package, which can withstand the very harsh radiation conditions of outer space and extend the product life cycle to several years. This new product will be installed in the two first NASA Gateway space station capsules to enter space, the Habitat Supply Module (HALO) and the Power and Propulsion Unit (PPE). The Gateway space station will be the first space station in lunar orbit. It is an important project of NASA's Artemis manned spaceflight program. The goal is to send the first woman and the next man to the moon in 2024, and finally realize the future manned Spaceship landing program on Mars. The power generation capacity of the PPE capsule is 60kW, which powers the Gateway space station subsystem and the solar electric booster system, enabling the space station to operate and communicate along the unique orbit around the moon, becoming an outpost in lunar orbit. At the same time, the HALO capsule will provide command, control and power distribution systems for the entire space station, as well as living quarters and scientific research sites, and communication functions between the space station and the lunar surface expedition team.
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