Francesco Laterza
Modular Avionics for Habitable Modules: Time-Triggered Ethernet as an Enabling Technology.
Rel. Stefano Di Carlo, Alessandro Savino. Politecnico di Torino, Master of science program in Cybersecurity, 2025
Abstract
The increasing complexity of modern space missions, particularly those involving long-duration habitable modules, is pushing traditional federated avionics architectures to their limits. These legacy systems, characterized by dedicated computers for each function and a fragmented mix of low-bandwidth buses, suffer from high mass, complex wiring, and limited scalability, reusability, and in-flight adaptability. This thesis proposes and analyzes a novel crate-based modular avionics architecture designed to address these challenges. The core of the work is the validation of Time-Triggered Ethernet (TTEthernet) as a high-speed and deterministic backbone for inter-crate communication. TTEthernet’s capability to concurrently manage time-triggered, rate-constrained, and best-effort traffic on a single network makes it an ideal candidate to replace legacy bus systems and support mixed-criticality applications that demand higher bandwidth.
The practical outcomes include the development of TTEthernet-enabling libraries and tools that allow non-TTE microcontrollers to interface with this technology
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