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Based in Bremen, Germany, EADS Astrium is
responsible for the planning, development
and manufacturing of the Columbus
research module. This module is designed to
enable scientific organisations and
businesses to conduct research and
experiments on the ISS. On board Columbus,
a data management system and a local area
network (LAN) connect the research module
internally, allowing uninterrupted data
exchange between the Space Station and its
communication systems.
Three computers manage the IT tasks on
board Columbus, carrying out functions
such as data acquisition, data transmission
to the ground station as well as the
initiation of scheduled IT-related activities.
The computers are networked together via
10 Mbit/second Ethernet in half duplex
mode. Thanks to the capabilities of the
ProCurve switches, the payload systems can
now be networked at 10 Mbit/second or 100 Mbit/second (full duplex mode). In the
centre of the network, there are two
redundantly networked Columbus LAN
switches, developed by EADS Astrium.
To maximize its research and computing
capabilities, Columbus required the
implementation of a high-performance,
reliable and highly resistant managed
Ethernet network, to ensure that the
network on board Columbus allows
scientists the maximum research
possibilities in a zero gravity environment.
This network implementation on the
European module of the Space Station, the
requirements of which demanded a service life
of at least ten years, means that for the
first time in the history of space travel, there
are now fully functional, commercial
Ethernet switches operating in space.
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Extensive tests were carried out at the
Proton Irradiation Facility in Villigen,
Switzerland, where switches from various
manufacturers were exposed to radiation in
a particle accelerator under conditions
similar to those found in space. Switches
from manufacturers including Avaya, Cisco,
Netgear, 3Com and D-Link were either
considered or put through rigorous
examinations over a lengthy period of time.
The results revealed that the ProCurve Switch 2524 was the only switch to meet the
Space Station’s needs in terms of
performance, robustness, reliability, and
radiation/mechanical resistance.
Furthermore, impressively, the ProCurve
Switch 2524 used in testing was one taken
from the standard production line.
Rolf Schmidhuber, Columbus Data
Management System Engineer for EADS
Astrium explained how the components of
the ProCurve Switch 2524 were a key
determining factor in the selection process:
“Inside the ProCurve Switch 2524, a central
switch fabric handles the majority of tasks,
while switches from other manufacturers
tend to distribute across a number of chips.
By using significantly fewer chips on the
circuit board, this proved much more
advantageous to us, as the fewer
components present, the lower the
susceptibility to radiation and mechanical
duress during the launch into space. This
was a key reason why ProCurve beat the
competition.”
Another decisive factor for EADS Astrium
was that the ProCurve 2524 comes with a
wealth of administration and configuration
options. After the decision was made to
implement ProCurve, the EADS Astrium
team further developed and optimised the ProCurve Switch 2524 to ensure its viability
as a switch for use in space. The task of
developing and optimising this
implementation was handled by the EADS
Astrium team responsible for Columbus
system technology for on-board data
processing.
Schmidhuber concluded: “To put it simply,
ProCurve was the only networking vendor
whose switches offered us the level of
reliability and performance required to
handle the intense demands on board
Columbus.”
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After three years of development time, the
EADS Astrium team, supported by ProCurve
Networking, finally completed the
installation in 2005. The ProCurve switches
were configured and then underwent
qualification testing prior to installation
onboard the Columbus module.
The Columbus module successfully docked with the ISS and became fully functional in February 2008, making the ProCurve 2524 switches the first commercial Ethernet switches in space. Given that Columbus is now operating some 400 kilometres above the Earth, EADS Astrium has on this occasion kindly waived ProCurve’s usual next business-day on-site replacement policy!
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Industry sector: Aerospace
Name: EADS Astrium Space
Transportation
Headquarters: Germany
- EADS Astrium planned to create
an Ethernet switching solution on
board the International Space
Station.
- The solution needed to be
absolutely reliable and have a
service life of at least ten years.
- EADS Astrium considered or
rigorously tested devices from
manufacturers including Avaya,
Cisco and 3Com.
- Only the ProCurve 2524 switch from ProCurve Networking met all
the requirements in terms of
performance, radiation
resistance, mechanical
resistance, and management
features.
- EADS Astrium configured and
installed a number of ProCurve 2524 switches.
- These were developed and
optimised to ensure viability for
use in space.
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Hardware
Software
ProCurve services
-
Lifetime warranty with next-business-day advance replacement (available in most countries) on most products for as long as the customer owns it *
-
Telephone support available during normal business hours
- Technical product support available via e-mail
- Comprehensive network design and configuration services offered at no extra charge
* Except 9300m and 9400sl series routing switches, 8100fl series Interconnect Fabric switches, and 700wl series access devices, which provide a one year limited warranty
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When you are ready to explore the benefits a ProCurve Networking solution can offer you, call HP at 1−800−975−7682.
To learn more about ProCurve Networking's Adaptive EDGE Architecture™ solutions, visit our home page.
Purchase: HP business solutions, products, and supplies can be purchased at your local HP partner, or bought directly from HP either online or by calling 1−800−613−2222.
Finance: HP finance plans provide all the benefits of new technology without the risk or cost of ownership. For details, call 1−888−999−4783.
Accessibility: HP is committed to providing products and services that are accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, please visit the HP Accessibility web site or call 1−888−259−5707.
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