As part of the EU-funded project SALTO, Realtra developed an improved high-speed camera designed to capture structural and subsystem behaviour throughout launch, ascent, and landing phases. Key features include:

01. Global Shutter Technology for Zero Distortion

Realtra employs global shutter sensors to eliminate distortion in fast-moving scenes—critical for analysing rapid events such as:

  • Landing leg deployment
  • Aerodynamic surface response
  • Structural vibrations during descent

Traditional rolling-shutter cameras distort motion, but the in the scope of the camera SALTO project renders high-speed events cleanly and accurately.

02. High-Definition Video with Efficient Compression

Using H.265 compression, the system delivers full HD video at significantly reduced bandwidth—important for missions where RF downlink capacity is limited.

03. Low Latency Imaging

Reduced latency enables more immediate assessment of events during short hops and dynamic phases of flight.

04. Configurable Low-Distortion Optics

Interchangeable lenses allow operators to select narrow-field or wide-angle coverage.
For THEMIS, a 90° field-of-view lens was selected to maximise scene capture during ascent and landing.

 

Ruggedised for Extreme Launch Environments

Reusable launchers experience intense vibration, shock, and thermal cycling. Realtra’s SALTO hardware underwent qualification testing at launcher-grade levels, including:

  • Thermal cycling and vacuum tests
  • Random vibration up to 35 g RMS
  • Pyroshock up to 5,000 g
  • Electromagnetic compatibility tests

These environmental tests ensure that the camera and network electronics can survive both ascent and return phases of a reusable launcher hop.

 

The 12-Channel Network Switch

To integrate the new video system with other onboard subsystems, Realtra developed a 12-channel Ethernet network switch, in collaboration with TTTech and with support from ESA’s FLPP programme.

Key capabilities include:
  • Four 1-Gbps and eight 100-Mbps ports
  • Support for best-effort, time-triggered Ethernet, and rate-constrained traffic
  • Flexible mapping between traffic types
  • Secure partitioning and high fault-tolerance
  • Expandability to 20 channels if required

This switch forms the backbone of the THEMIS avionics stack in SALTO, ensuring reliable and deterministic data handling during flight.

 

Integration on THEMIS

The new camera and network switch have been integrated at the top of the THEMIS reusable launcher demonstrator in Kiruna. The system will capture high-definition imagery of:

  • Structural loads
  • Booster behaviour
  • Landing leg deployment
  • Thermal and mechanical responses during descent

These insights will support iterative improvement of reusable launcher technology for Europe.

 

Roadmap Beyond SALTO

The SALTO programme allowed Realtra to produce a lighter, more capable system—reducing camera mass by 40% to just 340 grams—while also lowering cost.

Building on this progress, Realtra aims to:
01. Develop a Fully Integrated Avionics Stack

Based on a compact PC-104 architecture, this system may incorporate:

  • Battery and power distribution
  • GNSS navigation
  • Sensor acquisition (strain gauges, accelerometers, smart/wireless sensors)
  • CCSDS encoding for telemetry
  • Multiple integrated cameras
02. Target the Small Launcher Market

A modular, configurable, reduced-cost avionics suite positions Realtra strongly for Europe’s expanding small-launcher and NewSpace sector.

Realtra’s contributions to SALTO strengthen Europe’s ability to test and mature reusable launcher technologies. Their development of a robust, high-definition, low-distortion video system—and the supporting network infrastructure—will provide essential data during THEMIS test flights, enabling engineering validation, design iteration, and future operational readiness.

Realtra’s work demonstrates how a focused SME can bring advanced avionics and imaging solutions into major European space projects, accelerating the continent’s transition toward reusable launch systems.