SpaceCube explained

SpaceCube is a family of high-performance reconfigurable systems designed for spaceflight applications requiring on-board processing. The SpaceCube was developed by engineers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.^[1] The SpaceCube 1.0 system is based on Xilinx's Virtex-4 commercial FPGAs. The debut mission of the SpaceCube 1.0, Hubble Servicing Mission 4, was the first time Xilinx's Virtex-4 FPGAs flew in space.^[2]

Missions

• Hubble Servicing Mission 4: The SpaceCube was the brains of the Relative Navigation Sensors autonomous docking experiment that was intended to run in parallel with the astronaut controlled docking of the Hubble Space Telescope.^[3] RNS met its stated goals.^[4]
• MISSE-7: The SpaceCube was attached to the outside of the ISS during an EVA on Space Shuttle Mission STS-129 (Nov 2009). It provides an on-orbit test platform for demonstrating innovative radiation hardened by software techniques. It is mounted on the NRL's MISSE7 experiment which is attach to an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier.^{[5] [6]}

Family overview

• SpaceCube 1.0: Based on Xilinx's Virtex-4 commercial FPGAs.
• SpaceCube 1.5: Intermediate version of SpaceCube 2.0. Based on Xilinx's Virtex-5 commercial FPGAs. Scheduled to fly on sounding rocket flight in the fall of 2010.
• SpaceCube 2.0: Currently under development with over $1 million in funding.^[7] The SpaceCube 2.0 system is based around Xilinx's new radiation-hardened Virtex-5 FPGA.^[8]

Awards

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center SpaceCube team earned an honorable mention for the 2009 "IRAD Innovator of the Year" award.^[9]

On-board science data processing achievements

• Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) results:
  • 6 to 1 loss-less data volume reduction on SAR Nadir Altimetry dataset.^[10]
  • 165x data volume reduction on SAR mapping dataset.

External links

• PowerPC405 MIPS Study
• Goddard Space Flight Center technologies site
• SpaceCube on Facebook
• A pose and position measurement system for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission
• Relative Navigation
• Summer 2008 Goddard Tech Trends
• MAPLD 2009 RNS SpaceCube
• MAPLD 2009 SpaceCube Activities
• RHBD Xilinx Virtex-5
• Heavy ion SEE test of Xilinx Virtex4 XC4VFX60 FPGA
• SpaceCube Virtex-4 FPGA qualification methodology
• Spring 2009 Goddard News Tech Transfer
• Xilinx XCell Journal Customer Innovation Issue

Media

• SpaceCube Photo Gallery on Flickr
• MISSE-7 SpaceCube development team
• SpaceCube in Atlantis Shuttle bay(The SpaceCube is mounted on the MISSE-7 ExPA on ELC-2 on the bottom right.)
• SpaceCube mounted to MISSE7's ExPA(The SpaceCube is the smaller box with several connectors on top)
• Naval Research Lab's MISSE-7 Press Release

Notes and References

1. Web site: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center FY 2006 Internal Research and Development Program. https://web.archive.org/web/20090320094641/http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/2006_AR_V6_FINAL_low.pdf. dead. 2009-03-20. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 2006. Office of the Chief Technologist.
2. Web site: Xilinx December 2008 Newsletter. Xilinx. 2008. 2009-09-25. 2010-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20100203215142/http://newsletter.xilinx.com/emails/12-2008.html. dead.
3. Web site: SpaceCube to Debut in Flight Demonstration: Hybrid Computer to Fly on Hubble Servicing Mission. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007081804/http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/SpaceCube.htm. dead. 2008-10-07. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 2008. Office of the Chief Technologist.
4. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20100014897.pdf Flight Results of the HST SM4 Relative Navigation Sensor System
5. Web site: Materials International Space Station Experiment - 7 (MISSE-7). NASA. 2009. ISS Program Scientist's Office. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081210181244/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/MISSE-7.html. 2008-12-10.
6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/sets/72157622869997440/ Astronauts Install SpaceCube on International Space Station
7. Web site: Goddard Tech Trends Spring 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090723204831/http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/newsletter/Spring_2009_TT_lowres.pdf. dead. 2009-07-23. Goddard Space Flight Center. 2009. 5. 3. Office of the Chief Technologist.
8. Web site: Rad-Hard Virtex-5. Defense Update. 2009-09-25. 2009-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20091121005750/http://www.defense-update.com/products/v/Virtex-5.htm. dead.
9. Web site: Goddard 2009 IRAD Innovator of the Year award. https://web.archive.org/web/20091119215525/http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/2009InnOfYear.htm. dead. 2009-11-19. Goddard Space Flight Center. 2009.
10. Web site: SpaceCube On-Board SAR Data Processing Results. Goddard Space Flight Center. 2010.