Integrating CCSDS and MIL-STD-1553: What you should know

The use of the MIL-STD-1553B (1553) communications bus and the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) recommendations are increasingly common elements in the design of satellite command and data handling systems. However, the 1553 bus has some fundamental characteristics which are often not understood by those implementing the data protocol which will run on top of it. In addition to spacecraft-to-ground communications, various CCSDS data protocol units are being used as the format for the communication of commands, messages, and telemetry data between the spacecraft, instruments, and other subsystems. Experience has produced a list of "dos and don'ts" in implementing 1553 bus command and telemetry protocols using CCSDS.