Computers and networks for another shot at the moon.
Honeywell has released the specifications for the network gear that will be stuck under the bonnet of the coming Orion lunar program.
According to Military and Aerospace, the Orion vehicle will use IPv4 external communication, time-triggered Gigabit Ethernet LAN, fault tolerance, a dissimilar backup system, and autonomous navigation, rendezvous, and docking.
The capsule will be packed with more software so that the crew does not have to do anything, although the backup plan allows for them to take over if necessary.
One of the main challenges is to get shedloads of high-definition video out to the world, which means that the system has to be able to handle a lot of video bandwidth.Since the Orion is going to be in service for at least 20 years the computer system will have to be adaptable and modularly upgradable to enable bits to be replaced.
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Issue: 107 | December, 2009