Spaceflight Computing: NASA Working With Microchip Technology Inc. in Developing New Computer for Space Exploration

Microchip Technology Inc. has been awarded a $50 million federal contract to assist in developing the next-generation processor for spaceflight computing. It has been chosen by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work over the next three years to design and deliver a High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HSPC).

High-Performance Space Computer Processor Feature

According to NASA, as part of the HPSC project, new multicore computing chips with multiple processing cores on each chip will be delivered, along with the operating system needed to run them. The HPSC development strategy is being developed by a team of engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The design and delivery of the computer chips will be under the technical supervision of this NASA team.

HPSC will be specially designed to survive in space and include features that ensure it can operate and provide reliable results for the most critical operations required, such as robotically landing or flying on another planet, supporting astronauts far from Earth, or operating near small bodies in the outer solar system.

It is anticipated that the new processor will have at least 100 times the processing power of current spacecraft computers. It is not that they are particularly fast, but instead, they are dependable and fault-tolerant. 

To meet the upcoming mission demands, the new PC processors will offer the required performance, fault tolerance, and flexibility advancements.

The HPSC program is led by the Space Technology Mission Directorate's Game Changing Development program, with assistance from the Science Mission Directorate. JPL, a division of Caltech, is in charge of the project.

Current Computer Processors Used in Space Mission

One of the computer systems used today is the Honeywell flight computer. It was initially developed for use on Boeing 787 aircraft. NASA's reusable Orion capsule utilizes it. When it was put into orbit, the system was 12 years old.

The original Hubble Space Telescope DF-224 computer was a trio of 18-inch square, 110-pound processors that were constructed in the 1980s. In 1993, the 16 MHz Intel 386 was added to it, and when everyone fell in love with the Pentium 4 in 2000, the single 25 MHz Intel 486 took its place.

The microprocessor, on the other hand, was carried by Mars rovers. According to Bolly Inside, IBM dislikes the Apple G3. According to Wesley Powell, NASA's lead technologist for advanced avionics, the current computer was developed nearly 30 years ago. He added that, while they have previously served missions well, future NASA missions will necessitate significantly increased computing power and reliability.

Microchip Technology: About the Company

Microchip Technology possesses expertise that could be useful in the harsh environment of outer space. It has a PolarFire (Field Programmable Gate Array), is radiation resistant, and recently received MIL-STD-883 Class B certification.