The development of the on-board computer for the Vega launcher has reached an important milestone with the successful completion of flight qualification activities. The computer is one of the first units in the Vega programme to achieve qualification.GTD has been in charge of the software development of this new generation of On-Board Computer (OBC), with an architecture based on the ERC-32 CPU kernel and a Saab Space developed Computer Core Support (COCOS) ASIC. Compared with today's Ariane 5, the VEGA OBC provides more than 10 times higher performance with 4 times more RAM. It is contained in a slim mechanical package that consumes just 25% of the volume and less than half of the total mass of its predecessor, while at the same time being more tolerant of the space radiation environment. GTD has a well-known and widely acknowledged expertise in this domain, having already developed the OBCs for the Ariane 5+ launcher family and for other space vehicles like ATV.Several models of the Vega OBC have been produced, beginning with the structural and engineering models needed for the development and qualification activities and for the software and system validation that was carried out in Europe and French Guiana. Completion of qualification means that the first flight model will be delivered in the near future for integration into the avionics module of Vega's AVUM (Attitude and Vernier Upper Module) restartable fourth stage.
