Aitech Systems now offers the space industry’s first standalone small form factor (SFF) Ethernet switch designed and tested for near-earth orbit (NEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) missions. The new S-A6640 is a managed Ethernet Switch/Router with 12x1GE copper ports and uses IP and Ethernet protocols to help significantly improve communication speeds while lowering costs and significantly improving time-to-market for small satellite constellations as well as manned missions.

Designed with major components with a radiation pedigree, the S-A6640 can be easily installed in any NEO or LEO space mission with any target platform size and significantly lowers the risk of communication-related failures in space.

In addition to serving as the centerpiece of the Aitech Space Digital Backbone (DBB) architecture for LEO/NEO applications, the new switch operates as the main connectivity hub for any small satellite or human-rated space mission, operating as a scalable network architecture for all onboard computing and communication equipment.

Specific uses of the new S-A6640 include connectivity for GPGPU, edge computing, and storage as well as network protection, resiliency, and scalability in NEO/LEO space applications, especially in applications with two redundant S-A6640s installed.

The switch offers several advantages to ensure reliable communication. Fast Boot means operation is restored immediately in the event of a power spike/outage. In addition, the IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack routing enables the S-A6640 to be used in any type of IP network and the secure SSH & HTTPS interfaces facilitate easy remote management access.