NASA's experimental RadPC, a radiation tolerant computer, successfully traversed the Van Allen belts, showcasing its robustness in space environments. Launched on January 15, 2023, atop a SpaceX Falcon, the RadPC aims to facilitate advanced missions, particularly for robotic landers like Blue Ghost, destined for the Moon. This cutting-edge technology, designed with the Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA, aims to mitigate data errors from high-energy particles in space. Such innovations are crucial as space exploration increasingly relies on resilient computing systems to ensure mission success and data integrity.
Radiation and computers don't mix because a single high-energy particle can trigger a so-called 'single event effect,' causing minor data errors that lead to cascading malfunctions.
NASA wants resilient machines that can survive space travel, and funded development of the RadPC, a radiation tolerant computer that has passed through the Van Allen belts.
The device is being commercialized by a company called Resilient Computing that offers a product also named RadPC, featuring an architecture based on the Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA.
RadPC is described as '4 inches square and 0.5 inches thick ... about the size of a slice of bread,' with precision engineering for harsh environments.
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