White Rabbit in space related application
Michael B. Jamrozy, Marek Gumiński, Grzegorz H. Kasprowicz, Ryszard S. Romaniuk, Krzysztof T. Pozniak · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2015
This paper describes study results regarding potential use of White Rabbit technology in Space Related Applications. During the study Technology Readiness Level and Compliance with Space Related Applications was evaluated. After considering possible deployment and development scenarios, main focus has been put on European Space Agency's tracking station system. This outcome derived from specific requirements of tracking system which are coherent with White Rabbit technology scope of application and further development plans. Current state of Time and Frequency Distribution technology implemented into tracking stations is based on multiple different technologies coexisting in parallel creating a complex system. It requires specific, custom made hardware to combine all the technologies which makes it expensive and difficult to maintain. White Rabbit could be use to reduce Time and Frequency Distribution to a single Ethernet based network with link redundancy, payload data transfer and sub-nanosecond accuracy.