Development of the CREOLE ASIC and the Next-Generation On-Board Computer

The Single Board Computer Core (SBCC) activity was an ESA funded activity initiated with the aim of evolving the previous generation of Beyond Gravity’s on-board computers (OBCs), which were based on a set of ASICs implementing the processing function, mission and data link interfaces, memory controllers, authentication functions, telemetry, telecommand, reconfiguration, on-board time etc. To improve integration, reduce mass, volume, and AIT costs it was decided to integrate all these OBC functions into a single ASIC, which would form the core of a Single Board Computer (SBC) concept, and the subsequent next-generation on-board computer (OBC-NG).This resulting ASIC was codenamed CREOLE. It was developed, verified, manufactured, tested and fully validated within the scope of this activity. It is the core of the single board computer, which was also developed in this activity. Complemented by a power supply module, these modules form the next-generation OBC (OBC-NG) unit, which has already been selected for use in several institutional ESA missions, such as PLATO, CO2M and ARIEL.This paper will provide an overview of the development and architectures of CREOLE, the SBC core, and the rest of the modules comprising the next-generation OBC.