Processor card and intelligent multi-purpose system for use with processor card
Inventors
Geist, Alessandro • Brewer, Cody • Ripley, Robin A. • Wilson, Christopher M. • Franconi, Nicholas • Crum, Gary A. • Petrick, David J. • Flatley, Thomas P.
Assignees
National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA
Publication Number
US-11586497-B1
Publication Date
2023-02-21
Expiration Date
2040-09-17
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Abstract
The present invention relates to a single-board processor card configured for use in a 1U CubeSat payload form-factor multi-purpose architecture, including: a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) which is reconfigurable in flight; wherein a configuration memory of the FPGA can be scrubbed in flight to correct errors or upsets; and a radiation-hardened monitor (RHM) which provides radiation mitigation and system monitoring of the single-board processor card, and which reconfigures said FPGA during flight, scrubs the configuration memory, and monitors a health of the FPGA. The 1U CubeSat payload form-factor multi-purpose architecture includes a backplane having a plurality of slots, one of the plurality of slots which accommodates the single-board processor card, wherein the backplane routes signals to a plurality of standard-sized processor cards, interchangeably disposed in any of the plurality of slots.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a single-board processor card designed for use in a 1U CubeSat payload form-factor within a multi-purpose architecture called the Intelligent Multi-Purpose System (IMPS). This processor card includes a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) that can be reconfigured in flight, with a configuration memory that can be scrubbed in flight to correct errors or upsets. A radiation-hardened monitor (RHM) provides radiation mitigation and system monitoring, capable of reconfiguring the FPGA during flight, scrubbing the configuration memory, and monitoring the health of the FPGA.
The problem being solved addresses limitations of prior CubeSat and SmallSat processor systems, which include lack of sufficient processing power to support modern mission demands such as artificial intelligence, autonomy, constellation coordination, and fault mitigation. Previous solutions suffered from manufacturing difficulties, limited radiation-hardened monitor logic capacity, challenges with stacking connectors, and incompatibility with harsh space environments beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The invention responds to the need for a reusable, high-performance computing design that meets volume, mass, and radiation constraints while supporting mission-specific configurations.
The IMPS system architecture enables mixing and matching of 1U CubeSat payloads via a backplane with multiple slots routing signals to standard-sized processor cards. The processor card of the present invention includes advanced features like triple modular redundancy in the FPGA, multiple NAND flash memory modules for storing configurations and application codes, high-speed DDR3 SDRAM with error correction codes, extensive input/output interfaces including multi-gigabit transceivers, and an analog-to-digital converter for telemetry. Collectively, these features provide substantial improvements in onboard computing capability, reliability, and reduced power consumption for space missions beyond LEO.
Claims Coverage
The patent includes several independent claims covering the single-board processor card and the 1U CubeSat payload multi-purpose architecture, featuring a variety of inventive aspects related to FPGA configuration, radiation mitigation, memory management, and system integration.
Radiation-hardened FPGA with in-flight reconfiguration and scrubbing
The single-board processor card comprises an FPGA that is reconfigurable in flight and includes a configuration memory that can be scrubbed during flight to correct errors or upsets. The radiation-hardened monitor (RHM) reconfigures the FPGA, scrubs its configuration memory, and monitors the health of the FPGA. The RHM also ensures correct completion of FPGA programming and boot sequences and initiates automatic retries when necessary, with selectable boot configurations via a SelectMAP interface from either the backplane or the RHM.
Use of NAND flash memory with error detection and recovery
The processor card includes a first NAND flash memory connected to the RHM storing FPGA configuration files. The RHM uses error detection via page-level global cyclic redundancy checks (CRC) and multiple redundant copies to mitigate errors. It can reconstruct valid configuration files from multiple corrupted images, enhancing fault tolerance in file storage.
Backplane connector enabling multi-card integration
The processor card includes a high-density, high-speed open-pin field array backplane connector that facilitates plugging into a backplane, allowing interconnection and signal routing among multiple standard-size processor cards in the IMPS.
Triple modular redundancy for radiation mitigation
The FPGA includes triple modular redundancy (TMR) architecture that mitigates radiation effects from changing the configuration memory, ensuring reliable operation in space radiation environments.
System architecture with interchangeable multi-purpose cards
The 1U CubeSat payload multi-purpose architecture includes the single-board processor card and a backplane with multiple slots accommodating interchangeably disposed standard-sized processor cards. These include co-processor cards, AI accelerator cards, low voltage power converter cards, software-defined radio cards, miniaturized GPS cards, solid-state data recorders, and router cards for communications and networking applications.
Integration of memory components for operational flexibility
The processor card integrates double-data-rate-3 synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR3 SDRAM) for storing configuration instructions and active application data, with built-in error correction codes (ECC) to mitigate memory upsets. A second NAND flash memory connected directly to the FPGA stores applications, algorithms, soft microprocessor cores, and operating system images.
Extensive inputs/outputs and communication interfaces
The processor card features extensive I/O including multi-gigabit transceivers (MGTs) connected from the FPGA to the backplane, enabling networking of multiple processor cards, and low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) pairs. It supports a range of interfaces including SpaceWire, PCIe, Aurora, SRIO, SATA, Ethernet, and UART.
The claims collectively cover a robust and flexible single-board processor card with flight-reconfigurable FPGA, radiation-hardened monitoring, fault-tolerant memory management, high-speed interconnect capabilities, and a modular 1U CubeSat system architecture allowing interchangeable cards to support diverse space mission requirements.
Stated Advantages
Provides orders of magnitude increase in performance and capability over typical radiation-hardened processor systems.
Maintains high reliability with built-in radiation and fault mitigation features suitable for harsh space environments beyond low Earth orbit.
Offers substantial improvements in onboard computing while lowering relative power consumption and cost.
Enables a modular and reusable CubeSat form-factor architecture allowing mix-and-match configurable payloads for various mission-specific needs.
Supports advanced applications such as artificial intelligence through high-performance FPGA and AI accelerator integration.
Facilitates ease of manufacturing and testing by replacing complex rigid-flex designs with a backplane architecture for signal routing.
Documented Applications
Serving as a command and data-handling system or a high-performance application processor extension in CubeSats and SmallSats.
Enabling artificial intelligence and autonomy applications including semantic image segmentation for Earth observation and national security.
Supporting constellation coordination, fault mitigation, robotic servicing, and multi-platform collaboration in space missions.
Providing communications and navigation functions using software-defined radio and miniaturized GPS cards.
Offering cybersecurity features by supporting secure data recording and network routing in SmallSat environments.
Operating in harsh space environments, including lunar orbit missions for communications, navigation, precision landing, and robotic mobility guidance.
Interested in licensing this patent?