[AR] Re: LEO radiation shielding
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2019 00:07:31 -0500 (EST)
On Thu, 5 Dec 2019, Uwe Klein wrote:
Rad-hard parts also make for bigger boards and more boards and more
cables and higher power consumption because they don't put nearly as
much functionality on each chip...
I've worked around that by way of using Actel Antifuse FPGA ( ACT Series )
They come in all the regular incarnations and a (883) Rad Hard(ened) Series.
I think some of their competitors are doing the same sort of thing now --
cheap FPGAs for development and pin-and-program-compatible rad-hard ones
for flight -- although it's not an area I track.
One particularly nice aspect of FPGAs and such is that fewer boards means
fewer cables connecting them... and *cables* are now a high-failure-rate
area. It's worth some extra effort to minimize cables, connectors, etc.
However, FPGAs don't get you away from "more design work equals more
opportunities for mistakes". There's been at least one spacecraft lost
(the WIRE infrared-astronomy mission) because of FPGA design screwups.
Henry
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