baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) (10/14/89)
I just hope the new computer that they are replacing on the Space Shuttle is not infected with the "Friday the 13th" computer virus......
kenobi%lightsabre@Sun.COM (Rick Kwan) (10/27/89)
In article <1908@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes: > > >I just hope the new computer that they are replacing on the Space Shuttle >is not infected with the "Friday the 13th" computer virus...... When I first read this, I was infected by a simultaneous giggle and a shudder. As I recall, the Command and Data Systems (CDS) computer(s) on Magellan and Galileo are rad-hard, CMOS RCA 1802 chips. There was talk at the time (about 4 years ago) about moving to 8086-type processors manufactured by Harris (again, rad-hard requirements). Of course, this would make it really easy to use IBM PCs, running MS-DOS, to do development. Given larger memories coming, and standard tools to play with, one could imagine writing routines in "C" and doing final unit testing of the code on the PC, taking the resulting binaries, and integrating it into the spacecraft computer. Now, of course, we couldn't possibly expect a virus to show up in a future interplanetary/interstellar CDS, and go forth to infect the universe... could we? I mean... the thought of such contamination... A more serious question: what will be used for computing power on such probes in the near future? Is it Harris or what? Rick Kwan (aka Obi-Kwan Kenobi) Sun Microsystems - Intercontinental Operations kenobi@sun.UUCP or kenobi%lightsabre@sun.COM
spinkert@pikes.Colorado.EDU (Scott Casto Pinkerton) (10/27/89)
> >As I recall, the Command and Data Systems (CDS) computer(s) on Magellan >and Galileo are rad-hard, CMOS RCA 1802 chips. There was talk at the >time (about 4 years ago) about moving to 8086-type processors >manufactured by Harris (again, rad-hard requirements). Portions of the Mars Observer Spacecraft are still hoping to use that elusive Harris 80C86RH (Rad Hard) - I think it is planned to be a 5 Mhz part. > >Of course, this would make it really easy to use IBM PCs, running >MS-DOS, to do development. Given larger memories coming, and standard >tools to play with, one could imagine writing routines in "C" and doing >final unit testing of the code on the PC, taking the resulting >binaries, and integrating it into the spacecraft computer. > Only the most generic, and stand alone type testing will be done this way. I/O and interrupt processing being so different in the actual flight computers. > >A more serious question: what will be used for computing power on such >probes in the near future? Is it Harris or what? Probably the Harris 80C86RH, there probably is a Mil-Std-1750A type of a computer that is going rad-hard (I don't know of one in particular, just speculation), and I've heard that there is a large effort to get a rad hard 80386 available (I think this is being done to support Space Station efforts).