It has been 16 years since the first generation of the SpaceWire-USB Brick was released and the Brick has since become a familiar product in space organisations across the world. Numerous improvements have been made to the product over the years including new features, improved performance and support for new software and operating systems. Many of these improvements have been delivered in the form of software or firmware updates available from our website to existing users.

Sometimes improvements have been made to the physical hardware, requiring a new generation of the product to be released. Five years following the release of the Brick Mk3, we have taken the opportunity to add some new features to the hardware, resulting in the new SpaceWire Brick Mk4. Although the enclosure looks similar to the Brick Mk3, internally the new device features enhanced FMECA protection while the rear panel now includes a grounding stud and a power status LED.

The Brick Mk4 is connected to a Windows or Linux PC over USB and provides high throughput and low latency access to two SpaceWire ports. External triggers allow external equipment to signal an event to the Brick Mk4 or the Brick Mk4 to signal external equipment. Both interface and router modes are supported and the Brick Mk4 can be used in all stages of SpaceWire equipment development: initial evaluation, instrument simulation, control system simulation, unit testing and integration support.

As with all of our recent interface and router products, the Brick Mk4 is supported by our STAR-System software suite, making it simple to move from one of our other products to the Brick Mk4. Importantly, the Brick Mk4 is backwards compatible with the Brick Mk3 and includes all features present in the Brick Mk3.