BAE SYSTEMS2004-01-29 14:48:34
BAE SYSTEMS MICROPROCESSOR GUIDES ROVER LANDINGS ON MARS
BAE Systems-built "brains� are guiding "Spirit� and "Opportunity� - Mars Rovers that successfully landed in January to explore the Red Planet. Both Rovers are outfitted with BAE Systems radiation-hardened RAD6000 computers. The RAD6000 processed key navigational data during each spacecraft's six-month journey.
"We are proud to be part of the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Rover program,� said Vic Scuderi, manager, space products, BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) unit. "This has been a tremendous team effort and we are honoured that JPL selected the RAD6000 as their single spacecraft computer on-board the Rovers.�
The Rovers are designed to study minerals in rocks. They will travel up to 132 feet each day and operate at temperatures as low as minus100 degrees Celsius at night.
The RAD6000 is a high-performance 32-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) that operates in the heavily radiated space environment and is based on the IBM PowerPC architecture. The RAD6000 is one of a family of radiation-hardened protected computers developed and produced by BAE Systems with the support of NASA's JPL and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
Since 1995, IEWS' facility in Manassas, Virginia, has delivered more than 300 radiation-hardened computers that have been launched and are operating in space. The RAD6000 was also the single control and data computer used on the successful Pathfinder mission, which landed on Mars in 1997.
BAE Systems-built "brains� are guiding "Spirit� and "Opportunity� - Mars Rovers that successfully landed in January to explore the Red Planet. Both Rovers are outfitted with BAE Systems radiation-hardened RAD6000 computers. The RAD6000 processed key navigational data during each spacecraft's six-month journey.
"We are proud to be part of the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Rover program,� said Vic Scuderi, manager, space products, BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) unit. "This has been a tremendous team effort and we are honoured that JPL selected the RAD6000 as their single spacecraft computer on-board the Rovers.�
The Rovers are designed to study minerals in rocks. They will travel up to 132 feet each day and operate at temperatures as low as minus100 degrees Celsius at night.
The RAD6000 is a high-performance 32-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) that operates in the heavily radiated space environment and is based on the IBM PowerPC architecture. The RAD6000 is one of a family of radiation-hardened protected computers developed and produced by BAE Systems with the support of NASA's JPL and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
Since 1995, IEWS' facility in Manassas, Virginia, has delivered more than 300 radiation-hardened computers that have been launched and are operating in space. The RAD6000 was also the single control and data computer used on the successful Pathfinder mission, which landed on Mars in 1997.
For more information contact:
Warwick House
Po Box 87
Farnborough Aerospace Centre
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 6YU
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 1252 373232
Fax: + 44 1252 383000
