kwan@smeagol.UUCP (Richard Kwan) (01/17/86)
When Galileo begins its trek to Jupiter this spring, it will carry a
new generation of interplanetary computing power. Multiple processors.
Low powered CMOS technology. A proven commercial microprocessor
architecture. ...All put into a combination representing the best
interplanetary microprocessor architecture this planet has to offer.
What microprocessor, you ask. The RCA 1802.
("Hey, George! What's an 1802?" "I dunno. Isn't that some ancient
real-time computer made by IBM?")
The 1802 is part of the same generation as the 8080 and the 6800. It
was also the only commercial CMOS microprocessor available at the time,
and thus the most logical candidate for radiation hardening.
Several rad-hardened 1802s will fly on-board the Galileo spacecraft.
They will also be used on the Venus Radar Mapper, now officially known
as Magellan.
What about Mariner Mark II and the Mars Observer? If my sources are
correct (this stuff was hard to verify), processors of the 8085, 8086,
and 32000 families are in hardening. Strangely, no mention was made
of 6800 or 68000 family processors.
Rick Kwan
JPL
"Jumping into hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops, boy."
Han Solo
another galaxy