Summary:

The 1997 34th Space Congress' panel of experts considered the radiation hardened RAD6000 microprocessor chip the most significant technical contribution to space of the last decade. The RAD6000 came out of a space electronics program, the Advanced Spaceborne Computer Module (ASCM), funded by BMDO, the Air Force, and Phillips Laboratory. It increases the performance of space-qualified processors 10 times with a fivefold savings in weight and power. This processor technology is now baselined in over 20 satellite systems for commercial, DOD, and NASA space customers.

Technology Description:

On the Advanced Spaceborne Computer Module program, BMDO and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL; Albuquerque, NM) (formerly Phillips Laboratory) took a commercial computer processor chip and modified it for space. Then-IBM Federal Systems' RSC6000 processor chip was selected, and its manufacturing modified to produce the RAD6000, a radiation-hardened chip. The modifications are proprietary to Lockheed Martin, the company that bought the technology from Loral, which bought IBM Federal. The resulting 32-bit chip processed 35 million instructions per second (MIPS) compared with only 3 MIPS for its 16-bit space-qualified predecessor, a tenfold increase. (By comparison, 1998 non-space-qualified desktop processors average around 400 MIPS.) Previous early-1990s space-computer technology required five computer boards. The new processor set a new standard for space-qualified flight computers, reducing the number of computer boards needed from five to one with a fivefold savings in volume and power usage. Weight was reduced ten times.

The ASCM program paved the way for the Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) concept for space, a qualification method that focuses on controlling the manufacturers processes, rather than screening parts at the end of the process. QML is now standard for qualification of military electronics. A qualified manufacturers list indicates manufacturers whose process is so controlled that each chip that comes off the line does not have to be tested individually. Statistical process control is used instead, significantly reducing costs. The IBM Federal manufacturing facility was qualified based on its controlling parameters that affect space qualification. This significantly reduced testing costs for the chip. Functionally, the chip is the same as the commercial RSC6000, a tested, proven COTS (commercial off the shelf) processor. The commercial standard makes it easier to integrate electronics and software on a spacecraft.

MDA Origins:

In 1988, BMDO worked as a one-third funding partner with the AFRL to establish a space electronics development program, the Advanced Spaceborne Computer Module (ASCM). Prior to 1989 there were no off-the-shelf computers for the military to use for space. The ASCM program goals were to develop radiation-hardened microelectronics using two- and three-dimensional packaging technologies that reduce size, weight, and power needs while improving performance, versatility, and reliability. The legacy of the ASCM program is a significant leap in space-qualified computer technology and two radiation-hardened computer electronics fabrication lines (Honeywell and Lockheed Martin). (Honeywell was the other prime contractor on ASCM. See Spinoff Notebook article number 371 for the RH-32 processor.)

BMDO, the Air Force, and the AFRL started with a 16-bit processor based on military specification 1750-alpha and very high speed integrated circuit (VHSIC) technology. On the ASCM program, they tried a new approach to making space-qualified computing components. They selected an existing, proven commercial computer processor chip standard, then-IBM Federal Systems' RSC6000 chip, and modified the manufacturing for radiation hardening for space. The modifications to the commercial manufacturing facilities in Manassas, VA, are proprietary to Lockheed Martin, the company that bought the technology from Loral, which bought IBM Federal.

For the Advanced Technology Insertion Module (ATIM), a later component of the program, the partners developed a 32-bit, single-board computer based on the RAD6000 microprocessor, which operated at 33 megahertz or 35 MIPS. This processor technology is now baselined in over 20 satellite systems for DOD, commercial, and NASA space customers.

Historically, BMDO has been a major funder in space electronics. BMDO contributed $30 million to the ASCM program from 1988 to 1994. After 1994, it no longer participated as a one-third partner, but contributed an additional $2 million. BMDO continues to support the development of the technology by buying the technology for the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program. “BMDO was a strong supporter on pushing the technology at the beginning,” according to Captain Dan King, program manager of the Space Electronics Group at Phillips Laboratory. “If it wasn't for BMDO stepping up to the plate years ago, this wouldn't have gotten started.”

Spinoff Applications:

Radiation-hardened electronic components could be useful for commercial satellites to avoid solar flare damage and for chemical reactors for control closer to the heat of the reactor. They have applications for automobiles, nuclear power plants, hazardous waste sites, and medical electronics.

NASA developers are already reaping dividends from the ACSM investment. NASA gave the RAD6000 its first flight on the Mars Pathfinder. For Mars Pathfinder, the RAD6000 chip was integrated with memory, drivers, and FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) into a plug-in single-board computer (VME standard). Compared with the predecessor flight computer used for Cassini, the Mars Pathfinder flight computer runs 20 times faster at one-tenth the weight. NASA is using this same flight computer configuration (known as MFC for Mars Pathfinder Flight Computer) for the Deep Space 1 spacecraft. “The microprocessor that was cofunded by BMDO is the heart of the computer on DS1,” according to Brian Roach of Lockheed Martin Federal Systems. NASA has enhanced the flight computer configuration, still using the RAD6000 microprocessor, for the Mars '98 missions. This configuration will also fly on NASA's Stardust mission. The RAD6000 will also be part of the flight computers on Seawinds, the International Space Station, and other NASA programs.

The microprocessor will launch on military missions including the Tri-Service Experiment-5 (TRX-5), MightySat, and the Space-Based Infrared Sensor (SBIRS)-low for the Air Force.

Commercialization:

The RAD6000 is onboard orbiting commercial satellites as part of Loral's Globalstar constellation. It was also launched on the commercial Final Analysis, Inc.'s FAIsat. In addition, many of the processor chip sets are contracted to be launched in the next year.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is working on the next-generation space processor program, which may have implications for the next-generation terrestrial computer chip. Lockheed Martin would like to propose a higher performance (100 MIPS) chip to Teledesic for telecommunications.

Company Profile:

Lockheed Martin Federal Systems in Manassas is an operating unit of Lockheed Martin Electronics Sector, which designs, develops, and manufactures electronic systems for global defense, civil, and commercial markets. Lockheed Martin is headquartered in Bethesda, MD. The corporation's core businesses are space and telecommunications, electronics, information and services, aeronautics, and energy and systems integration. Employing some 180,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 1997 sales surpassing $28 billion.

The Lockheed Martin fabrication facility in Manassas, the Semiconductor Technology Center (STC), is one of only two (along with Honeywell) foundries in the world that produce high-performance, digital, radiation-hardened processors that tolerate a total ionizing dose of up to 1 megarad of radiation. The STC is a wafer fabrication area for radiation-hardened semiconductor devices. In July 1998 the facility was upgraded to manufacture 200-millimeter (effectively 5- to 8-inch) wafers, from which will be produced 0.18-micrometer lithography semiconductor components for advanced military and commercial space applications. The RAD6000 technology was funded by the Government, making Lockheed Martin a merchant supplier and thus prohibited from holding the technology exclusive to their own systems, i.e., they must sell it to other companies on a non-discriminatory basis. So, for example, they are supplying both teams in the SBIRS competition.

Contact Information:

Brian Roach, Marketing
Lockheed Martin Federal Systems
9500 Godwin Dr (400/045)
Manassas VA 20110
Tel:703-367-1706
Fax: 703-367-3114
email: brian.roach@lmco.com
web: www.lmco.com

Capt. Dan King
Space Electronics Group program manager
Air Force Research Laboratory
Space Vehicles Directorate
3500 Aberdeen Avenue SE
Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5776
Tel:505-846-6067
Fax:505-846-5815
web: www.kirtland.af.mil/afrl_vs/