Radiation Tolerant Space Data Acquisition

Commercial pressures are shifting the focus towards using rugged commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) space qualified data acquisition systems instead of more traditional radiation hardened systems. However, while the cost savings of using space COTS is significant over radiation hardened systems, they may not be suitable meet mission criteria in higher radiation environments such as low earth orbit

Curtiss-Wright has developed a system from feedback in the industry that uses a radiation hardened chassis that utilizes COTS modules. In the event of a Single Event Latch-ups (SEL) on a module, the backplane resets the module. This operation ensures that the potential harmful effects of ionizing radiation are eliminated. The backplane has the ability to switch modules on and off as desired for optimized power budgeting and provides continuous health status information and a watchdog capability.