A YORK-based company is helping secure the safe return of space shuttles to earth after its technology was selected for safety tests on the European Space Agency's latest vehicle.

Rapita Systems started in 2004 as a spin-out from the University of York's computer science department, and creates tools to test the effectiveness of software in areas such as avionic flight and automotive engineering control systems.

The company, which moved from York Science Park to Osbaldwick earlier this year, has been selected to supply its tools to assist with the testing of the software systems used on the European Space Agency's Intermediate Experimental Vehicle (IXV).

Due to be launched into space in November, the IXV is the space agency's technology platform developed as the next step forward from the successful Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator (ARD) to exhibit re-entry capabilities.

Rapita Systems has been working with Spanish company GMV, which has been responsible for three activities: the onboard software and software validation facility, the navigation within the guidance navigation and control subsystem and vehicle model identification, and the identification of re-entry aerodynamic parameters.

Rapita Systems chief executive Guillem Bernat said: "We are delighted to be making a contribution to this re-usable spacecraft project.

"As software is responsible for so many of the critical functions of space vehicles, it is essential that they are thoroughly tested before they are deployed.

"Our product, RapiCover provides an excellent way to show that this is the case."

The production and qualification phase, which lasted two years, enabled GMV to make further progress in the development of onboard software, which plays an key role in guidance, navigation and control functions.

Rapita's contribution to the project was its RapiCover software tool, which ensures the software controlling the IXV has been thoroughly tested.

Rapita Systems now employs 30 staff and exports to clients around the world, including Europe, China, Brazil, Canada and the US.

Customers are predominantly in the aerospace and automotive electronics industries, and include BAE Systems and Airbus.

Rapita has targeted these sectors as tools which reduce the cost of testing the performance and effectiveness of software are crucial to successful product development.

Its tools help to reduce the cost of measuring, optimising and verifying the timing performance and test effectiveness of their critical real-time embedded systems.