Error Injection Study for a SpaceFibre In-Orbit Demonstrator

Abstract: The space electronics sector is shifting towards the New-Space paradigm, in which traditional space-quali_ed and expensive components and payloads are replaced by commercial o_-the-shelf (COTS) alternatives. This change in mentality is accompanied by the development of inexpensive cubesats, lowering the entry barrie in terms of cost, enabling an increase in scienti_c research in space. However, also well-established and resourceful spacecraft manufacturers are adopting this trend that allows them to become more competitive in the market. Following this trend, Thales Alenia Space is developing R&D activities using COTS components. One example is the SpaceFibre In-Orbit Demonstrator, a digital board integrated in a cubesat payload that aims to test two Intellectual Property blocks implementing the new ECSS standard for high-speed onboard communication. This thesis presents the necessary steps that were taken to integrate the _rmware for the demonstrator's Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that constitutes the main processing and control unit for the board. The activity is centered around the development of a Leon3 System-on-Chip in VHDL used to manage the components in the board and test the SpaceFibre technology. Moreover, it also addresses the main problem of using COTS components in the space environment: their sensitivity to radiation, that, for a FPGA results in Single-Event Upsets causing the implementation to malfunction, and a potential failure of the mission if they are not addressed. To accomplish the task, a SEU-emulation methodology based in partial recon_guration and integrating the state of the art techniques is elaborated and applied to test the reliability of the SpaceFibre technology. Finally, results show that the mean time between failures of the SpaceFibre Intellectual Property Block using a COTS FPGA is of 170 days for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 2278 days for Geostationary Orbit (GEO) if con_guration memory scrubbing is included in the design, enabling its usage in short LEO missions for data transmission. Moreover, tailored mitigation techniques based on the information gathered from applying the proposed methodology are presented to improve the gures.