SpaceWire cable assemblies are made from a length of SpaceWire cable of up to 10 m length terminated at each end by nine-pin micro-miniature D-type plugs.

Figure 25 SpaceWire Cable Assembly

The SpaceWire cable assembly includes an outer-shield which is 360º terminated to the connector backshell at each end of the cable. Each twisted pair also has a shield (inner-shields) which are connected to pin 3 of the connector (signal ground) at one end of the cable only, the end driving the twisted pairs.

This arrangement is far from ideal and in future it is recommended that all shields are terminated to the backshell and pin 3 at both ends of the connector.

A photograph of a SpaceWire cable assembly is shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26 Photograph of SpaceWire Cable Assembly