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 Info
Launched	2001
Designed by	IBM
Common manufacturer(s)	BAE
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate	110 MHz  to 200 MHz
Cache
L1 cache	32 KB instruction + 32 KB data
Architecture and classification
Application	Radiation hardened
Min. feature size	250 nm to 150 nm
Microarchitecture	PowerPC 750
Instruction set	PowerPC v.1.1
Physical specifications
Cores	1
History
Predecessor	RAD6000
Successor	RAD5500

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 itself can withstand 200,000 to 1,000,000 rads (2,000 to 10,000 gray), temperature ranges 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 100,000 rads (1,000 gray), temperature ranges 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 which is US$200,000 per board (per 2002 reference).[4] However customer program requirements and quantities will 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 April 11, 2005[2]
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched August 12, 2005[2]
• SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation) instrument package[7] on each of the STEREO spacecraft, launched October 25, 2006
• WorldView-1 satellite, launched Sept 18, 2007 - has two RAD750s.[6]
• Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly GLAST, launched June 11, 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 Feb 11, 2010
• Juno spacecraft, launched August 5, 2011[9]
• Curiosity rover, launched November 26, 2011[10]
• Van Allen Probes, launched on August 30, 2012[11]
• InSight, launched on May 5, 2018[12]
• Perseverance rover launched 30 July 2020.[13]

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 February 18, 2013. 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 January 20, 2014. ISBN 978-0-387-09649-0
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 February 18, 2013.
10. NASA Launches Most Capable and Robust Rover to Mars
11. Van Allen Probes Launch
12. Preview of the InSight Mars launch
13. "The Mars 2020 Rover's Brains". NASA. Retrieved August 29, 2019.

External links

• Radiation-Hardened Processors Products from BAE Systems
• BAE Systems’ Radiation-hardened electronics product guide (PDF), from BAE Systems
• BAE Systems RAD750 processor JTAG Emulator from Corelis.com
• The CPUs of Spacecraft Computers in Space