3 ms·
At least for Falcon, I imagine radiation-hardened components probably aren't much of a gain. A rocket's operational lifetime is on the order of an hour. Triple-
by rzimmerman 12y ago
At least for Falcon, I imagine radiation-hardened components probably aren't much of a gain. A rocket's operational lifetime is on the order of an hour. Triple- or 5-redundant computers are really effective for shorter missions like this because loss of one computer (due to radiation damage) doesn't have a long-term impact like it would on a deep space mission. At least that's my guess.
- tankenmate 12y agoThe first stage never steps outside the van allen belt so it would never get much in the way of serious radiation; the second stage would possibly go outside for GTO or SSTO.
- mkramlich 12y agoI think that guess is accurate and was a big consideration. If it were for an interplanetary vehicle, multi-months, etc, then yes clearly you'd want a design that assumed stronger/longer radiation exposure. Plus redundancy becomes even more desirable if you have humans inside the tin can.