The Southern Launch Vehicle Avionics and the role of GPS

AUSPACE Limited is part of the consortium undertaking the study of the Southern Launch Vehicle (SLV) for the Australian Space Office. As part of the study, AUSPACE has undertaken an examination of the avionics requirements for the vehicle, and developed top-level conceptual designs for a variety of launcher configurations. In particular, the role of GPS in augmenting or supplanting traditional avionics functions has been examined. AUSPACE has developed a novel, powerful form of GPS receiver. This will potentially simplify several aspects of the navigation and ranging electronics in the SLV, and allow tighter control of range safety. The paper presents the results of the SLV avionics study, including typical block diagrams and representative designs. It shows how GPS can be integrated into the avionics, and how this allows a simpler, lower cost avionics design. In addition, it examines the impact of GPS on the range safety problem.