RAD750

The RAD750 is a radiation-hardened single-board computer manufactured by BAE Systems Electronics, Intelligence & Support.[1] The successor of the RAD6000, the RAD750 is for use in high-radiation environments experienced on board satellites and spacecraft.[2] The RAD750 was released in 2001, with the first units launched into space in 2005.[1][3]

RAD750
The RAD750
General information
Launched2001
Designed byIBM
Common manufacturer(s)
  • BAE
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate110 MHz  to 200 MHz 
Cache
L1 cache32 KB instruction + 32 KB data
Architecture and classification
ApplicationRadiation-hardened
Technology node250 nm to 150 nm
MicroarchitecturePowerPC 750
Instruction setPowerPC v.1.1
Physical specifications
Cores
  • 1
History
Predecessor(s)RAD6000
Successor(s)RAD5500
POWER, PowerPC, and Power ISA architectures
NXP (formerly Freescale and Motorola)
IBM
IBM/Nintendo
Other
Related links
Cancelled in gray, historic in italic

Technology

The CPU has 10.4 million transistors, an order of magnitude more than the RAD6000 (which had 1.1 million).[3] It is manufactured using either 250 or 150 nm photolithography and has a die area of 130 mm2.[1] It has a core clock of 110 to 200 MHz and can process at 266 MIPS or more.[1] The CPU can include an extended L2 cache to improve performance.[3] The CPU can withstand an absorbed radiation dose of 2,000 to 10,000 grays (200,000 to 1,000,000 rads), temperatures between −55 °C and 125 °C, and requires 5 watts of power.[1][3] The standard RAD750 single-board system (CPU and motherboard) can withstand 1,000 grays (100,000 rads), temperatures between −55 °C and 70 °C, and requires 10 watts of power.[3]

The RAD750 system has a price that is comparable to the RAD6000, the latter of which as of 2002 was listed at US$200,000 (equivalent to $338,797 in 2023).[4] Customer program requirements and quantities, however, greatly affect the final unit costs.

The RAD750 is based on the PowerPC 750.[1] Its packaging and logic functions are completely compatible with the PowerPC 7xx family.[3]

The term RAD750 is a registered trademark of BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.[5]

Deployment

In 2010, it was reported that there were over 150 RAD750s used in a variety of spacecraft.[6] Notable examples,[2] in order of launch date, include:

  • Deep Impact comet-chasing spacecraft, launched in January 2005 – first to use the RAD750 computer.[2]
  • XSS 11, small experimental satellite, launched 11 April 2005.[2]
  • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched 12 August 2005.[2]
  • SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation) instrument package[7] on each of the STEREO spacecraft, launched 15 October 2006.
  • WorldView-1 satellite, launched 18 September 2007, has two RAD750s.[6]
  • Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly GLAST, launched 11 June 2008.
  • Kepler space telescope, launched in March 2009.[2]
  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on 18 June 2009.
  • Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), launched 14 December 2009.[8]
  • Solar Dynamics Observatory, launched 11 February 2010.
  • Juno spacecraft, launched 5 August 2011.[9]
  • Curiosity rover, launched 26 November 2011.[10]
  • Van Allen Probes, launched on 30 August 2012.[11]
  • InSight, launched on 5 May 2018.[12]
  • Perseverance rover, launched 30 July 2020.[13]
  • James Webb Space Telescope, launched 25 December 2021, uses one RAD750 clocked at 118 MHz.[14]

References
  1. "RAD750 radiation-hardened PowerPC microprocessor" (PDF). BAE Systems. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  2. "RAD750". Ball Aerospace & Technologies. Archived from the original on 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  3. L. Burchin (2002-12-04), "Rad750 experience: The challenge of SEE hardening a high performance commercial processor MRQW 2002" (PDF), Microelectronics Reliability and Qualification Workshop, Manhattan Beach, CA: BAE Systems, archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26, retrieved 2009-04-30.
  4. "BAE Systems moves into third generation rad-hard processors". Military & Aerospace Electronics. 2002-05-01. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  5. "RAD750". Logos Database. Retrieved 2013-02-18. USPTO serial number 75894617
  6. "BAE RAD750 Radiation-Hardened SBCs Control WorldView-1 Satellite". EDA Geek. 2007-10-17. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  7. The STEREO Mission. Springer. 2008-07-18. ISBN 9780387096483. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  8. BAE Systems Space Computer Gives Wisdom To The WISE, spacedaily.com, 2009-12-22.
  9. "Juno Launch Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. August 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  10. NASA Launches Most Capable and Robust Rover to Mars Archived 2021-03-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. Van Allen Probes Launch.
  12. Preview of the InSight Mars launch.
  13. "The Mars 2020 Rover's Brains". NASA. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  14. McComas, David. "Lessons from 30 Years of Flight Software" (PDF). NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server.
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