-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
Getting to Know Your Designer
In this issue, we examine how fabs work with their design customers, educating them on the critical elements of fabrication needed to be successful, as well as the many tradeoffs involved. How well do you really know your customer? What makes for a closer, more synchronized working relationship?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
NASA Awards Next-Generation Spaceflight Computing Processor Contract
August 16, 2022 | NASAEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has selected Microchip Technology Inc. of Chandler, Arizona, to develop a High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC)?processor that will provide at least 100 times the computational capacity of current spaceflight computers. This key capability would advance all types of future space missions, from planetary exploration to lunar and Mars surface missions.
“This cutting-edge spaceflight processor will have a tremendous impact on our future space missions and even technologies here on Earth,” said Niki Werkheiser, director of technology maturation within the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This effort will amplify existing spacecraft capabilities and enable new ones and could ultimately be used by virtually every future space mission, all benefiting from more capable flight computing.”
Microchip will architect, design, and deliver the HPSC processor over three years, with the goal of employing the processor on future lunar and planetary exploration missions. Microchip’s processor architecture will significantly improve the overall computing efficiency for these missions by enabling computing power to be scalable, based on mission needs. The design also will be more reliable and have a higher fault tolerance. The processor will enable spacecraft computers to perform calculations up to 100 times faster than today’s state-of-the-art space computers. As part of NASA's ongoing commercial partnership efforts, the work will take place under a $50 million firm-fixed-price contract, with Microchip contributing significant research and development costs to complete the project.
"We are pleased that NASA selected Microchip as its partner to develop the next-generation space-qualified compute processor platform.” said Babak Samimi, corporate vice president for Microchip’s Communications business unit. “We are making a joint investment with NASA on a new trusted and transformative compute platform. It will deliver comprehensive Ethernet networking, advanced artificial intelligence/machine learning processing and connectivity support while offering unprecedented performance gain, fault-tolerance, and security architecture at low power consumption. We will foster an industry wide ecosystem of single board computer partners anchored on the HPSC processor and Microchip’s complementary space-qualified total system solutions to benefit a new generation of mission-critical edge compute designs optimized for size, weight, and power.”
Current space-qualified computing technology is designed to address the most computationally-intensive part of a mission – a practice that leads to overdesigning and inefficient use of computing power. For example, a Mars surface mission demands high-speed data movement and intense calculation during the planetary landing sequence. However, routine mobility and science operations require fewer calculations and tasks per second. Microchip’s new processor architecture offers the flexibility for the processing power to ebb and flow depending on current operational requirements. Certain processing functions can also be turned off when not in use, reducing power consumption. This capability will save a large amount of energy and improve overall computing efficiency for space missions.?
“Our current spaceflight computers were developed almost 30 years ago,” said Wesley Powell, NASA’s principal technologist for advanced avionics. “While they have served past missions well, future NASA missions demand significantly increased onboard computing capabilities and reliability. The new computing processor will provide the advances required in performance, fault tolerance, and flexibility to meet these future mission needs.”
Microchip’s HPSC processor may be useful to other government agencies and applicable to other types of future space mission to explore our solar system and beyond, from Earth science operations to Mars exploration and human lunar missions. The processor could potentially be used for commercial systems on Earth that require similar mission critical edge computing needs as space missions and are able to safely continue operations if one component of the system fails. These potential applications include industrial automation, edge computing, time-sensitive ethernet data transmission, artificial intelligence, and even Internet of Things gateways, which bridge various communication technologies.
In 2021, NASA solicited proposals for a trade study for an advanced radiation-hardened computing chip with the intention of selecting one vendor for development. This contract is part of NASA’s High-Performance Space Computing project. HPSC is led by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program with support from the Science Mission Directorate. The project is led by JPL, a division of Caltech.
Suggested Items
Keynote Preview: Reshaping our Engagement With the World
03/28/2024 | Shawn DuBravac, IPCThe widespread integration of AI across various sectors is broadening its impact, from revolutionizing healthcare with Smart solutions to transforming homes into intuitive spaces, highlighting its crucial role in boosting efficiency and addressing complex challenges. In healthcare, we're witnessing a trend toward personalized care with AI-driven devices like intelligent pillows to mitigate snoring, sophisticated sleep monitors, and innovative patient monitoring systems.
Indium Corporation to Present, Exhibit at EPP InnovationsFORUM
03/28/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation is set to present and exhibit at EPP InnovationsFORUM, one of Europe’s premier single-day electronics manufacturing forums, on April 17 in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany. Topic areas for 2024 will include AI, automation, sustainability, and quality.
Accenture Invests in Sanctuary AI to Bring AI-Powered, Humanoid Robotics to Work Alongside Humans
03/27/2024 | BUSINESS WIREAccenture has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Sanctuary AI, a developer of humanoid general-purpose robots that are powered by AI and can perform a wide variety of work tasks quickly, safely and effectively.
AT&S Well Prepared to Benefit from AI Boom
03/26/2024 | AT&SThe rapid progress in the development of artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize all areas of daily life in the coming years. In order to operate such AI systems, an enormous amount of computing power is required, which is provided by a vast network of data centres.
The IMAPS Show: A Conversation with John Andresakis
03/26/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineOn the last day of the IMAPS Device Packaging Conference, Marcy LaRont sat down with industry veteran John Andresakis of Quantic Ohmega, who attended the conference this week. Not his first time at this event, he talked about the conference, advanced technology, and trying to get the word out about the advanced packaging substrates solution Quantic is offering.