CGI to lead the development of a cloud-based Universal Virtual Flight Data Recorder

European Space Agency co-funded project will support aircraft safety and future aircraft tracking and data recovery......

CGI  has been awarded a contract under the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Space Systems for Safety and Security (4S) programme with the support from the UK Space Agency. CGI will lead a consortium in the development of a Service Demonstrator for a virtual flight data recorder. Replicating the function of a traditional crash-protected flight data recorder (Black Box) in a virtual, cloud-based environment, the new system will allow the assured, authenticated and provenance-controlled storage of data transmitted by an aircraft while in flight. It will enable access to that data almost immediately in case of an emergency, incident, or accident. The Universal Virtual Flight Data Recorder (UVFDR) will be designed for use on any aircraft equipped to send engineering telemetry and operational data to the ground.

Neil Timms, Senior Vice President Space, Defence and Intelligence for UK & Australia at CGI said: "Understanding the cause of an air-related incident is vital to helping improve flight safety, and indispensable for those impacted and their families. CGI is proud to be working with ESA, whilst building on our heritage in safe, secure cloud, to develop a virtual flight recording service that allows any suitably equipped aircraft to send flight data to a secure cloud storage facility."

Designed to meet Global Aeronautic Distress and Safety System (GADSS) aircraft tracking and flight data recovery requirements, a future UVFDR service can be used on its own on smaller aircraft, or alongside traditional recorders on aircraft legally required to carry them. The future UVFDR services could also reduce the time and effort required to locate aircraft in distress, as well as provide critical telemetry to ground-based engineers assisting their crews.

To Jupiter and beyond: Airbus-built JUICE begins its epic odyssey

To Jupiter and Beyond: Airbus-built JUICE begins its epic odyssey

ESA mission will study Jupiter and its icy moons

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the beginning of an ambitious voyage to uncover the secrets of the ocean worlds around giant planet Jupiter.

Following the launch and separation from the rocket, ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, confirmed the acquisition of signal via the New Norcia ground station in Australia at 15:04 CEST. The spacecraft’s vast 27 m long solar arrays unfurled into their distinctive cross shapes at 15:33 CEST, ensuring Juice can travel to the outer Solar System. The completion of this critical operation marked the launch a success.

“ESA, with its international partners, is on its way to Jupiter,” says ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. “Juice’s spectacular launch carries with it the vision and ambition of those who conceived the mission decades ago, the skill and passion of everyone who has built this incredible machine, the drive of our flight operations team, and the curiosity of the global science community. Together, we will keep pushing the boundaries of science and exploration in order to answer humankind’s biggest questions.”

The ESA spacecraft operations team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, took control of the spacecraft and confirmed the reception of the first telemetry and the smooth deployment of the solar arrays. The Airbus-built JUICE is now officially on its way to Jupiter! 

Additional equipment and instruments will be progressively turned on in the next few days and the operations team will run tests to make sure they are all fully operational.

“After years of work, watching this launch live from our sites across Europe was a very emotional moment for all those who have worked on this incredible mission. This is the best of Europe coming together!” said Michael Schöllhorn, CEO Airbus Defence and Space from Kourou. “I’m eager to see the next big thing coming from the European space community.“

JUICE: a European shared success