IBM RAD6000
| Industry | Computer hardware, Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Fate | Sold to Loral; acquired by Lockheed Martin; became part of BAE Systems Electronic Systems |
| Successor | BAE Systems Electronic Systems |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | NASA, U.S. Department of Defense, commercial missions |
| Products | RAD6000 radiation-hardened single-board computer |
The RAD6000 is a radiation-hardened single-board computer that utilizes the IBM RISC Single Chip CPU architecture and was produced by IBM Federal Systems. Following the sale of IBM Federal Systems to Loral, and its subsequent acquisition by Lockheed Martin, the RAD6000 became part of BAE Systems Electronic Systems. This computer is notably employed as the primary onboard processor in a variety of NASA spacecraft.
History
The CPU at the heart of the RAD6000 was created by applying radiation-hardening techniques to the original RSC 1.1 million-transistor processor. This development was a joint effort between IBM Federal Systems Division and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
By June 2008, more than 200 RAD6000 units were operational in space, supporting numerous NASA, U.S. Department of Defense, and commercial missions such as:
- Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity)
- Deep Space 1 spacecraft
- Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter
- Mars Odyssey orbiter
- Spitzer Space Telescope
- MESSENGER mission to Mercury
- STEREO spacecraft
- IMAGE/Explorer 78 MIDEX satellite
- Genesis and Stardust sample return missions
- Phoenix Mars Polar Lander
- Dawn mission targeting the asteroid belt with ion propulsion technology
- Solar Dynamics Observatory (launched in 2010)
- Burst Alert Telescope Image Processor aboard the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
- DSCOVR Deep Space Climate Observatory
The RAD6000 runs at a peak clock speed of 33 MHz, delivering roughly 35 million instructions per second (MIPS). It features 128 MB of error-correcting code (ECC) memory and commonly operates real-time systems such as VxWorks. Flight hardware allows selectable clock frequencies of 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz.
With an approximate price range between US$200,000 and $300,000 per unit, the RAD6000 was introduced to commercial buyers starting in 1996.
Its successor model is the RAD750, which is built upon IBM's PowerPC 750 processor.
See also
- IBM RS/6000
- PowerPC 601, a consumer-grade processor offering comparable performance to the RAD6000
External links
- Software on Mars rovers 'space qualified' – Matthew Fordahl/AP, January 23, 2004
- AFRL Rad6000 fact sheet
- Audio interview: Software Behind the Mars Phoenix Lander
- Overview of CPUs used in spaceflight computers