4 ms·

There's also some RAD hardened components to check for bit-flips and restart the hardware that quickly it can do it mid-flight. Here's the full paper. https://

by _joel 5y ago

There's also some RAD hardened components to check for bit-flips and restart the hardware that quickly it can do it mid-flight. Here's the full paper. https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/46229/CL%2317-6243.pdf https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/46229/CL%2317...

flavius29663 5y ago
That is so smart. I know we're talking about NASA, but I am still in awe. I read a bit of the paper, it's actually even more redundant than what you said: - snapdragon is only used for higher level functions of the flight: The SnapdragonTM processor has a 2.26 GHz Quad-core SnapdragonTM 801 processor with 2 GB Random Access Memory (RAM), 32 GB Flash memory, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART), a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), General Purpose Input/Ouput (GPIO), a 4000 pixel color camera, and a Video Graphics Array (VGA) black-and-white camera. This processor implements visual navigation via a velocity estimate derived from features tracked in the VGA camera, filter propagation for use in flight control, data management, command processing, telemetry generation, and radio communication. The SnapdragonTM processor is connected to two - for flight control they use 2 (redundant) automotive chips from Texas Instruments: TMS570LC43x high-reliability automotive processor operating at 300 MHz, with 512 K RAM, 4 MB flash memory, UART, SPI, GPIO. - these are all controlled by a radiation hardened board, the 3rd level of redundancy
- _joel 5y ago
  They also used a $129.99 altimeter from Garmin (Lidar-Lite-V3), no fancy fancy. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14032 https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14032 edit: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/general/garmin-on-mars/ https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/general/garmin-on-mars/
ryandrake 5y ago
I wonder how much hardware marketed as "space grade" (or whatever the terminology is, I'm just a layman) is actually as hardened using these techniques and redundant as you'd expect. Or are they simply certified because the manufacturer's process went through some checkboxes. In the aviation world, for some components, the difference between aviation grade and non- is 1. cost and 2. a Certificate of Conformance from the manufacturer that says "this thing is provably aviation grade, trust us bro."
- sennight 5y ago
  Anyone can call their stuff "space grade", but it is only marketing copy if it isn't flight qualified. I don't track new stuff because my interest is in hardware developed in the 80s and 90s, but for that time frame there are long lists of qualified parts and published testing methodologies. I know that for military grade stuff of that time you had a combination of distinguishing characteristics that set one part number apart from the commercial grade offering: top bin draw and complete performance characterization. At some point that was relaxed to where it is now just mostly about binning and traceability.

by _joel 5y ago

flavius29663 5y ago

That is so smart. I know we're talking about NASA, but I am still in awe. I read a bit of the paper, it's actually even more redundant than what you said: - snapdragon is only used for higher level functions of the flight: The SnapdragonTM processor has a 2.26 GHz Quad-core SnapdragonTM 801 processor with 2 GB Random Access Memory (RAM), 32 GB Flash memory, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART), a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), General Purpose Input/Ouput (GPIO), a 4000 pixel color camera, and a Video Graphics Array (VGA) black-and-white camera. This processor implements visual navigation via a velocity estimate derived from features tracked in the VGA camera, filter propagation for use in flight control, data management, command processing, telemetry generation, and radio communication. The SnapdragonTM processor is connected to two - for flight control they use 2 (redundant) automotive chips from Texas Instruments: TMS570LC43x high-reliability automotive processor operating at 300 MHz, with 512 K RAM, 4 MB flash memory, UART, SPI, GPIO. - these are all controlled by a radiation hardened board, the 3rd level of redundancy

_joel 5y ago
They also used a $129.99 altimeter from Garmin (Lidar-Lite-V3), no fancy fancy. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14032 https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14032 edit: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/general/garmin-on-mars/ https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/general/garmin-on-mars/

ryandrake 5y ago

I wonder how much hardware marketed as "space grade" (or whatever the terminology is, I'm just a layman) is actually as hardened using these techniques and redundant as you'd expect. Or are they simply certified because the manufacturer's process went through some checkboxes. In the aviation world, for some components, the difference between aviation grade and non- is 1. cost and 2. a Certificate of Conformance from the manufacturer that says "this thing is provably aviation grade, trust us bro."

sennight 5y ago
Anyone can call their stuff "space grade", but it is only marketing copy if it isn't flight qualified. I don't track new stuff because my interest is in hardware developed in the 80s and 90s, but for that time frame there are long lists of qualified parts and published testing methodologies. I know that for military grade stuff of that time you had a combination of distinguishing characteristics that set one part number apart from the commercial grade offering: top bin draw and complete performance characterization. At some point that was relaxed to where it is now just mostly about binning and traceability.