The SpaceFibre Codec IP (beta version) was released by STAR-Dundee at the end of 2013. The SpaceFibre standard and the codec IP are designed in the way that it shall work with TI TLK2711-SP - a space qualified SERDES device [1]. This paper presents the work where the Codec IP and the TLK2711 are used to implement a SpaceFibre link. Firstly the SpaceFibre Codec and the TLK2711 device are introduced, especially the power-on reset and signal detection operations of the TLK2711 for they are fundamental for the SpaceFibre link. Experiments on link initialisation are presented with results and analysis.

SpaceFibre is a multi-gigabit/s data link and network technology for use onboard spacecraft. Compatible with SpaceWire at the packet level, SpaceFibre runs over electrical and optical media. It provides extensive quality of service (QoS) and fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) capabilities that are designed specifically for spacecraft applications. This paper provides a short introduction to SpaceFibre and then describes how SpaceFibre is being implemented. It introduces some SpaceFibre test equipment and explains how SpaceFibre has been validated. SpaceFibre is designed to support high data rate payload data-handling like synthetic aperture radar (SAR), multi-spectral imaging systems and fast mass memory. It is an ideal candidate for the next generation of spacecraft interconnect, being an open standard designed specifically for spacecraft applications.