schaper@pnet51.orb.mn.org (S Schaper) (10/28/89)
I'd opt for 80860's that are rad-hardened, or 88k's in parallel, I have a friend in Mass, programming AI for a company already producing a machine with 508 88k's in parallel. And Laser Ram Disks to record data during those times when there is too much gathered to radio back real-time. Disclaimer: on this message AI means expert system type software, not Boar Power :-) Steve Schaper UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, uunet!rosevax, chinet, killer}!orbit!pnet51!schaper ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!schaper@nosc.mil INET: schaper@pnet51.cts.com
stevo@uniblab.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Steve Groom) (11/01/89)
In article <1368@orbit.UUCP> schaper@pnet51.orb.mn.org (S Schaper) writes: [ referring to the future use of "modern" processors for flight hardware, in particular a version of the 8086 ] >I'd opt for 80860's that are rad-hardened, or 88k's in parallel... Of course you would. Believe me, the people responsible for flight software would too. The problem is that it's not a trivial task to design and produce rad-hard parts. You don't just whip up a special version of a chip in a few months and stick it in a spacecraft. That's why a rad-hard version of the 8086 is just now being discussed for use, because has taken this long to produce it. Personally, I'd rather see them using a SPARC :-) -- Steve Groom, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA stevo@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov {ames,usc}!elroy!stevo