PICMG, a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open specifications, has announced that PICMG members have ratified the cPCI Serial Space specification. It is a ruggedized version of CompactPCI Serial that specifically addresses the extreme environment requirements for outer space.

The CPCI-S.1 R1.0 specification was ratified in August 2017. CompactPCI Serial Space (cPCI Serial Space) is intended to be used in Space, e.g. on-board satellites as the platform system and the payload controller as well as on Earth for the control systems and ground stations. Regular CompactPCI Serial products can be combined with cPCI Serial Space products to develop test and simulation systems.

“I would like to thank all members of the work group for the excellent job they have done”, said Manfred Schmitz, chair of PICMG’s CompactPCI Serial Space committee and CTO of MEN Mikro Elektronik. “Supporting open computer standards has always been a passion of ours. Moreover, the robustness, flexibility and simplicity of the new CompactPCI Serial for Space standard is exactly what MEN’s products stand for in general”. Mr. Schmitz added “MEN feels honored to have been asked by PICMG members to assist in the creation of yet another important standard – this time to bring proven industrial computer technology into space.”

CompactPCI Serial Space stems from the core CompactPCI Serial specification that provides high-speed serial performance to the 3U/6U Eurocard form factor. CompactPCI Serial allows the use of PCIe Gen3, 40GbE, or other high-speed protocols with a rugged and cost-effective connector solution. It is used in a wide range of applications, including Railway/Transportation, Military/Aerospace, Industrial Automation, and more.

CompactPCI Serial Space was selected for the OneWeb program, where over 900 satellites will utilize the technology. For more information on cPCI Serial Space or other PICMG specifications, visit www.picmg.org

About PICMG

PICMG is a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open standards for high performance industrial, military/aerospace, telecommunications, test/measurement, medical, and general purpose embedded computing applications.

There are over 150 member companies that specialize in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and thermal design, single board computer design, very high speed signaling design and analysis, networking expertise, backplane and packaging design, power management, High Availability software, and comprehensive system management.

Founded in 1994, PICMG’s original mission was to extend the PCI standard to non-desktop applications. The formal name of the organization is the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group.

Key standards families developed by PICMG include CompactPCI®, AdvancedTCA®, MicroTCA®, AdvancedMC®, CompactPCI® Serial, COM Express®, SHB Express®, and HPM (Hardware Platform Management).