Saab Ericsson Space announced Thursday it has contracted to produce guidance computers and telemetry antennas for 25 Ariane 5 heavy-lift rockets. Every Ariane launcher from the onset of the program has used Saab Ericsson Space guidance computers, the company said in a statement.
Every Ariane 5 launcher carries two redundant computers that work side-by-side in case suffers a non-correctible failure during flight.
Computer system fault tolerance is SES's specialty, the statement said. Each of the new computers will have both hardware and software fault tolerance built in, and SES continues to develop the technology in collaboration Chalmers, a local technical university in Gothenburg.
SES also manufactures antennas that transmit telemetry during flight. Most of the launches are served by two antennas, but sometimes four antennas are used if larger amounts of telemetry are requested.
"Most space programs do not offer volume production," said Jan Persson, SES's Ariane project manager. "We benefit a lot from this, even if prices in the Ariane program are under strong pressure."
