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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)
This project will develop a high-performance, CubeSat-sized single board computer (SBC), known as SpaceCube RADICAL (Rad-tolerant Application Data processor for Integrated Cubesat Architecture with LS1046), featuring the Teledyne LS1046-Space, a commercial, radiation-tolerant, quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 1.8 GHz processor. To enhance the overall system reliability and allow for its use for a variety of mission classes and orbits, RADICAL will employ a hybrid architecture, using radiation-hardened peripheral circuitry to power and monitor the commercial LS1046-Space processor. RADICAL will fill a significant gap between the existing low-performance, radiation-hardened central processing units (CPUs), such as the RAD750 and GR740, and the upcoming higher-power Microchip High-Performance Space Computing (HPSC) processor, which is still years away. As such, RADICAL is a near-term solution to meet the demanding onboard processing needs of next-generation instruments and missions.
In order to meet the demanding onboard processing requirements of next-generation instruments and missions, RADICAL will provide a low-cost, near-term solution for a radiation-tolerant space processor with orders-of-magnitude increases in performance over traditional radiation-hardened central processing units (CPUs). For example, for next-generation missions such as Distributed Systems Mission (DSM), onboard processors will not only be required to handle common tasks for science-data collection, packaging, and processing, but will also need to execute more advanced tasks for constellation management and image processing (e.g., optical navigation and star tracking). The SpaceCube RADICAL will allow for the deployment of these advanced algorithms on board for applications such as constellation management, artificial intelligence, machine learning, image processing, and many others that were previously infeasible to execute on traditional rad-hard processors like the RAD750 and GR740. Unlike the Microchip HPSC, the LS1046-Space is available now as a part that can be procured, allowing for an immediate, near-term solution for missions and instruments requiring a radiation-tolerant hard processor with advanced computational capability. Moreover, the SpaceCube RADICAL could serve as a backup to HPSC in the event of delays that have historically plagued the HPSC development. Even as space-qualified HPSC parts and SBCs become available, the SpaceCube RADICAL could then serve as a low-cost alternative to the HPSC for low-budget small satellite, Class D, and sub-Class D missions.
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