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Let’s see: they’re spending tens of millions of dollars to put something into geostationary orbit that will presumably last there for years. I’m thinking they’r
by ttul 9y ago
Let’s see: they’re spending tens of millions of dollars to put something into geostationary orbit that will presumably last there for years. I’m thinking they’re probably using radiation hardened parts.
- analognoise 9y agoAs someone who has done rad hard fpga design as well as radiation testing of components, I can say: that's too bad. Rad hard parts are so behind commercial, and have such high unit costs (RTG4 is ~90k each, 300krad TID), and the verification is grueling. It's fun to see your stuff leave the planet, though.
- planteen 9y agoMaybe. If I remember correctly, the total ionizing dose (TID) at GEO is around double what it is at LEO. There are more single event effects (SEE) at GEO which would have to be handled. Most small sats at LEO use commercial parts and can operate for many years. The original Iridium constellation used commercial parts, though in LEO.