NASA Goddard has entered into Space Act Agreements with a number of commercial companies to further develop the SpaceWire technology. “SpaceWire technology development can be beneficial for wider U.S. industry and government use,” explained Rakow. While the standard is tailored to spaceflight systems, the technology behind it may benefit ground applications as well. “The more people we get using it, the more ideas we’ll have,” said Rakow. “Industry has expertise that NASA doesn’t have and vice versa, and that exchange will benefit the SpaceWire standard, as well as everyone who uses it now and in the future.”

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is one mission that will incorporate SpaceWire-based components. The LRO mission, scheduled to launch in October 2008, will conduct investigations specifically targeted to prepare for and support future human exploration of the Moon. (NASA Goddard)

This summer, NASA announced two more agreements. The first was with BAE Systems, the fourth-largest defense company in the world, and the largest in Europe. BAE is building a new application- specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design for Goddard’s SpaceWire router technology. The SpaceWire router functionality will be integrated into BAE’s onboard computer system, making the computer desirable to NASA, the military, and other U.S. aersospace organizations. BAE plans to finish its SpaceWire ASIC design early next year, and should have working boards available for NASA missions and other aerospace companies within two years.

The second agreemement will enable Aeroflex, which develops microelectronic and test and measurement products, to develop a SpaceWire-based router with guidance from Goddard. The company will translate the multiport router into ASICs, enabling a variety of applications to connect through the router and communicate with each other, benefiting spaceflight applications for both organizations and the aerospace industry. Specifically, NASA will benefit from being able to purchase ASICs from Aeroflex at a much more affordable rate than producing them in-house.