Radiation Tolerant Computer System (RadPC)

Blue Ghost Mission 1 · landed · NASA payload

A computer built on a commercial FPGA that recovers from radiation hits: redundant processor tiles vote, and a damaged tile is swapped for a spare and repaired in the background. It ran a test program in transit and on the surface, with three dosimeters measuring the radiation it saw.

PI: Brock J. LaMeres (Montana State University)
Built by: Montana State University (Bozeman); NASA Marshall managed the payload for CLPS (university)

Technology	radiation-tolerant computer
Moon Base need	#0201, DN-012 L (The study's reading. Gap #0201 (extreme environment avionics, rated 2 of 57) asks for avionics tolerant of radiation and extreme temperatures; RadPC demonstrated radiation-tolerant computing through the Van Allen belts and on the surface into lunar night. Its dosimeters give a little of DN-012 L (surface radiation), which asks for long-term South Pole measurements; RadPC measured at Mare Crisium for two weeks. NASA's payload manager ties RadPC to Moon to Mars missions in general, not to a gap.)
Route onto CLPS	LSITP; Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads (solicitation NNH18ZDA001N): one of 12 payloads NASA selected on 1 July 2019, as 'Lunar Demonstration of a Reconfigurable, Radiation Tolerant Computer System'. NASA Marshall signed the contract on 22 Jan 2020. Assigned to Firefly's TO 19D (NASA's award of 4 Feb 2021, release 21-012). FO's page says its flight tests were crucial to the selection.; 2019-07-01
Timeline	first funding 2008 (Montana Space Grant, first prototype); first flight test before 2014 (Education Office balloons); first FO flight 2014-10-23 (SL9); selected 2019-07-01 (LSITP); contract signed 2020-01-22; on TO 19D from 2021-02-04; launch 2025-01-15; landing 2025-03-02
On the Moon	operated as planned
FO	tested

Flights before the Moon

• sounding rocket or balloon (not FO): High-altitude balloons in Montana and at NASA (nine flights), funded by NASA's Education Office, before 2014 (not dated). Early flight hardware of the computer on balloons. The report does not say FO sponsored them.

"NASA’s Education Office provided follow-up funding to develop the computer into flight hardware for demonstration on high altitude balloon systems, both in Montana and at NASA (a total of nine high altitude balloon flights)."
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 56

• FO: UP Aerospace SpaceLoft 9 (SL9) sounding rocket, Spaceport America, New Mexico (FO technology T0088, TechPort 91411), 2014-10-23. The RadSat test bed's first trip to space (124 km): that it survives launch and that its subsystems were mature enough for orbital testing.

"October 23, 2014: The Montana State Radiation Tolerant, Reconfigurable Computer System payload (T0088) is dismounted from the SL9 payload section after recovery from WSMR."
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 44 caption

"This test demonstrated a variety of sub-systems were mature enough for orbital testing."
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, Sounding Rocket Testing of RadPC (UP Aerospace SL9)

• FO: Terrier-Orion sounding rocket, NASA Wallops Flight Facility (T0088; listed in FO's FY2016 flight table), 2016-03-07. RadPC's second trip to space.

"On March 7, 2016, a Terrior-Orion sounding rocket carried RadPC into outer space for the second time."
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, Sounding Rocket Testing of RadPC (Wallops Flight Facility Terrior-Orion)

"Mar 7, 2016 NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Terrier-Orion"
— nasa.gov: flightopportunities-2016-annualreport-508-highres.pdf, FY2016 report p. 44 flight table

• ISS or MISSE: International Space Station (RTcMISS), funded by NASA EPSCoR, 2016-12 to 2017-12. A year on the ISS: long runs without faults (TRL 7, by FO's report), and lessons on extra instrumentation. Returned to Montana State in 2018.

"was delivered to the ISS in December 2016 for one year of testing"
— nasa.gov: flightopportunities-2017-annualreport-508-highres.pdf, FY2017 report p. 18

"During 2017, The RadPC computer technology spent 12 months on the ISS"
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, RTcMISS

• Earth orbit or deep space: RadSat-g 3U CubeSat, launched to the ISS on OA-9 and deployed into orbit by NanoRacks, 2018-07 (deployed). The computer in an extended orbital mission.

"It was then put into orbit in July of 2018 using the NanoRacks CubeSat deployer."
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, RadSat-g

• Earth orbit or deep space: RadSat-u 3U CubeSat, launched to the ISS on NG-12 and deployed into orbit by NanoRacks, 2020-02 (deployed). The computer in a second extended orbital mission.

"It was then put into orbit in February of 2020 using the NanoRacks CubeSat deployer."
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, RadSat-u

• FO: Raven Aerostar Thunderhead high-altitude balloon, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (FO technology T0233, TechPort 106701, 'RadPC@scale'), 2021-07-27 to 2021-07-28; 2021-09-22 to 2021-09-24. Two flights, more than 80 hours above most of the atmosphere: RadPC recovered from more than 3,000 injected faults. FO calls it preparation for the lunar demonstration.

"July 27-28 and September 22-24, 2021"
— nasa.gov: dr-fop-pub-anr-21-02-fop-2021-accomp-report-2022-online.pdf, FY2021 report p. 7

"researchers tested the computing technology against more than 3,000 injected system faults; the RadPC recovered from all of them successfully"
— nasa.gov: dr-fop-pub-anr-21-02-fop-2021-accomp-report-2022-online.pdf, FY2021 report p. 7

• ISS or MISSE: International Space Station: RadPC-AI payloads, the first on SpaceX CRS-24 and a second about six months later on a Northrop Grumman resupply, 2021-12 and 2022. RadPC running AI health-monitoring algorithms reliably in orbit, then updated software. FO's page counts two ISS demonstrations in 2022.

"In 2021, MSU sent a RadPC payload to the International Space Station onboard the SpaceX CRS-24 resupply mission."
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, RadPC-AI

"These flight demonstrations were crucial to preparing RadPC for two demonstrations on the International Space Station in 2022 as well as selection for the Blue Ghost CLPS mission."
— From Flight Test to the Moon: A Tale of Three Payloads, RadPC section

• FO: World View Enterprises Stratollite high-altitude balloon, New Mexico (FO technology, TechPort 106595, 'Using Single Event Effects to Generate Truly Random Numbers for Encryption Keys', PI Brock LaMeres, 2018-2020), 2019-09. A version of the RadPC architecture (CyberCat) using single event effects to make random encryption keys, about four hours of float at 120,000 feet. Replaces the record's entry of kind 'other, sponsor not stated': the FO TechPort copy holds the project (same PI, technology and period), and NASA Ames's FO article counts the 2019 World View flight among the team's FO-facilitated tests. FO's count of four RadPC flights leaves it out because it ran under a separate FO project.

"Using Single Event Effects to Generate Truly Random Numbers for Encryption Keys"
— TechPort project 106595, title; FO program, Montana State University, PI Brock LaMeres, 2018-08-30 to 2020-10-02

"In September of 2019, a version of the RadPC architecture was flown to an altitude"
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, CyberCat

"through Flight Opportunities to refine the innovation’s design."
— Suborbital Testing Puts Moon-Bound Computing System Through its Paces - NASA, introducing the 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021 flights

"on World View Enterprises’ Stratollite high-altitude balloon, the team collected data over four hours."
— Suborbital Testing Puts Moon-Bound Computing System Through its Paces - NASA

Heritage hardware

• commercial parts: Commercial FPGAs (a Xilinx Artix-7 in the 2015 design) with the team's patented fault-recovery method; TID tolerance comes from the commercial process node.

"This approach has been implemented on an Artix-7 200T FPGA with 9 Xilinx MicroBlaze soft processors."
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 54

"The recovery procedures are implemented on a commercial Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)."
— TO19D Science Payloads - NASA Science

Funding before the lunar flight

• Montana Space Grant Consortium: the first prototype (2008). Amount not public. (NASA Space Grant (Montana); 2008): amount not in public sources

"Initial funding to build the first prototype was provided by the Montana Space Grant Consortium in 2008."
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 56

• NASA grant to Montana State to design, prototype and test the computer (NNX10AN32A). The FY2015 report says NASA EPSCoR funded the next, more functional prototype; tying this grant to EPSCoR is the study's reading (CFDA given as 43.001). Linked by recipient and description. (NASA EPSCoR (probable); 2010-08-01 to 2014-07-31): $750,000

"THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN, PROTOTYPE, AND TEST A NOVEL RADIATION TOLERANT FLIGHT COMPUTER."
— USAspending.gov, award NNX10AN32A, description; obligated 750000.0

"NASA’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) subsequently funded the development of a more functional prototype"
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 56

• NASA grant to mature the computer's TRL (NNX12AM50G). The FY2015 report says STMD funded the SL-9 and 2016 rocket demonstrations through the GCD NRA Appendix A selection, and FO's FY2016 table lists T0088 under 'NRA1 GCD Appx A'; that this grant is that award is the study's reading, from the dates and description. (STMD (GCD NRA Appendix A, probable); 2013-01-01 to 2016-12-31): $98,706

"THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MATURE THE TECHNICAL READINESS LEVEL OF A RADIATION TOLERANT, RECONFIGURABLE COMPUTER SYSTEM"
— USAspending.gov, award NNX12AM50G, description; obligated 98706.0

"STMD first provided funding through selection in the GCD NRA Appendix A round of solicitation to demonstrate the computer system in suborbital space on SL9 and on a second sounding rocket flight in 2016."
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 56

• NASA grant to mature a radiation-tolerant SmallSat computer for a later flight (NNX13AR03A; CFDA 43.009). Program not identified. Linked by recipient and description. (NASA (program not stated); 2013-09-05 to 2016-09-04): $183,478

"THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MATURE THE TECHNICAL READINESS LEVEL (TRL) OF A RADIATION TOLERANT, SMALLSAT COMPUTER SYSTEM"
— USAspending.gov, award NNX13AR03A, description; obligated 183478.0

• NASA EPSCoR ISS demonstration (NNX14AL03A, CFDA 43.008). FO's FY2017 report says EPSCoR funded the ISS test. Linked by description. (NASA EPSCoR; 2014-07-07 to 2017-07-06): $100,000

"TO TEST A NOVEL RADIATION TOLERANT COMPUTER SYSTEM ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION"
— USAspending.gov, award NNX14AL03A, description; amount 100000.0

"Funded by NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), the ISS demonstration evaluated the novel computer"
— nasa.gov: flightopportunities-2017-annualreport-508-highres.pdf, FY2017 report p. 18

• NASA STEM cooperative agreement for an undergraduate 3U CubeSat to demonstrate the computer (NNX16AI75A; RadSat-g, which a NASA Wallops paper lists among undergraduate USIP projects). Linked by description and dates. (NASA Office of STEM Engagement (CFDA 43.008); 2016-05-09 to 2019-05-08): $200,000

"IN THIS PROJECT, AN INTERDISCIPLINARY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT TEAM WILL DESIGN AND BUILD A 3U CUBESAT TO DEMONSTRATE A NOVEL RADIATION TOLERANT COMPUTE"
— USAspending.gov, award NNX16AI75A, description; obligated 200000.0

• Two more NASA STEM awards for satellite missions of the computer (80NSSC17M0037, deployed from the ISS; 80NSSC19M0037, memory subsystem): $100,000 each. Linked by description. Not added together here. (NASA Office of STEM Engagement (CFDA 43.008); 2017-2021): amount not in public sources

"THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CONDUCT A SATELLITE MISSION TO DEMONSTRATE A NOVEL RADIATION TOLERANT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY."
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC17M0037, description; amount 100000.0

"THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CONDUCT A SATELLITE MISSION TO DEMONSTRATE THE RELIABILITY AND SYNCHRONIZATION OF THE MEMORY SUB-SYSTEM"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC19M0037, description; amount 100000.0

• STMD Small Spacecraft Technology Program: integrating the computer into a 3U CubeSat for an ELaNa launch (by the FY2015 report). Amount not public. (STMD Small Spacecraft Technology; about 2015-2017): amount not in public sources

"through STMD’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program, the computer technology is currently being integrated into a 3U CubeSat"
— FO annual report, FY2015, FY2015 report p. 56

• LSITP contract from NASA Marshall to Montana State (80MSFC20C0032), the lunar payload. Linked by recipient and program: RadPC is Montana State's only LSITP selection. (SMD LSITP; 2020-01-22 to 2025-12-31): $1,771,571

"LUNAR SURFACE INSTRUMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PAYLOADS (LSITP).NNH18ZDA001N"
— USAspending.gov, award 80MSFC20C0032, description; obligated 1771571.0

• NASA SBIR to Resilient Computing (Bozeman; UEI KN4SRR3AFM17), the commercial spin-off: five NASA awards 2021-2024, all on the RadPC architecture (first: 211101 / 80NSSC21C0074; then 221613 / 80NSSC22PB173 and 80NSSC23CA147; 231495 / 80NSSC23PB559 and 80NSSC24CA100). Total from sbir_aggregate. This funds the commercial line, not the lunar unit. (NASA SBIR; 2021-2024): $2,244,499

"This project builds on over 10 years of NASA-funded research at Montana State University on a computer architecture called RadPC."
— SBIR.gov award data, award 211101, abstract; 80NSSC21C0074, award amount 131500.0

"Real-Time Hardware Configurable Coprocessors"
— SBIR.gov award data, award list (UEI KN4SRR3AFM17); sbir_aggregate for that UEI and NASA gives 5 awards, amount_total 2244499.0

How it got onto CLPS

"Lunar Demonstration of a Reconfigurable, Radiation Tolerant Computer System aims to demonstrate a radiation-tolerant computing technology."
— NASA Selects 12 New Lunar Science, Technology Investigations - NASA, release 19-053, 1 Jul 2019

"LUNAR SURFACE INSTRUMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PAYLOADS (LSITP).NNH18ZDA001N"
— USAspending.gov, award 80MSFC20C0032, description; signed 2020-01-22, NASA Marshall

"In 2019, MSU was selected by the NASA Lunar Surface Instruments and Payloads (LSITP) program to develop a payload carrying its RadPC radiation tolerant computer system"
— LaMeres' Research Overview, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Montana State Universit…, RadPC-Lunar

"NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas, approximately $93.3 million to deliver a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon in 2023."
— NASA Selects Firefly Aerospace for Artemis Commercial Moon Delivery in 2023 - NASA, release 21-012, 4 Feb 2021

On the Moon

RadPC worked through Earth's Van Allen belts, in transit and lunar orbit, on the surface including the eclipse, and into the lunar night, verifying its fault-recovery methods. The PI's page says it ran 14 days on the surface.

"successfully operated in transit through Earth’s Van Allen belts, as well as on the lunar surface into the lunar night"
— NASA Science Continues After Firefly’s First Moon Mission Concludes - NASA

"RadPC verified solutions to mitigate radiation effects on computers"
— Banks et al., Results from the NASA Instruments onboard Blue Ghost Mission 1, 57th LPSC (2026), a…, page 1, RadPC

FO's role

Grade: tested. Grade unchanged (tested): FO flew this computer line, by the same Montana State team, four times before the Moon. The rockets showed it survives launch and that its subsystems were ready for orbit; the PI says the suborbital flight was 'instrumental in maturing our technology to TRL 6'. The 2021 balloons ran more than 80 hours and 3,000 injected faults. FO was one line among several: Education Office balloons, the ISS (2016-2017 and 2021-2022) and two CubeSats also flew it. The PI: 'There would have been no chance of us achieving [the lunar mission infusion] without Flight Opportunities.' The 2014 and 2016 flights predate the 2019 selection (retroactive fit); the 2021 flights were flown with the lunar mission in view.

FO flights: 4. FO bought the four flights (FO's count: four, 2014-2021); costs are in FO records. The FY2015 report says STMD's GCD NRA Appendix A selection funded the 2014 and 2016 rocket demonstrations; the split between FO and GCD is not public. FO now also supports Resilient Computing's RadPC+Coprocessor (TechPort 184144, from 2025), after the lunar flight.

"RadPC flew for more than 100 hours above 75,000 feet"
— From Flight Test to the Moon: A Tale of Three Payloads, RadPC section

"instrumental in maturing our technology to TRL 6"
— nasa.gov: flightopportunities-2017-annualreport-508-highres.pdf, FY2017 report p. 18, LaMeres quote

"There would have been no chance of us achieving [the lunar mission infusion] without Flight Opportunities."
— nasa.gov: dr-fop-pub-anr-21-02-fop-2021-accomp-report-2022-online.pdf, FY2021 report p. 7, LaMeres quote

"This lunar demonstration will further test the computer system matured in part through Flight Opportunities"
— nasa.gov: dr-fop-pub-anr-19-accomp-report-online.pdf, FY2019 report p. 5

Who built it

"Lead Development Organization: Montana State University"
— TO19D Science Payloads - NASA Science

"Payload PI: Dr. Brock J. LaMeres"
— TO19D Science Payloads - NASA Science

Moon Base need

"There is a need for avionics systems that are tolerant to one"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: ESDMD #0201: Extreme Environment Avionics, Description

"The RadPC CLPS payload is an exciting opportunity to verify a radiation-tolerant computer option that could make future Moon to Mars missions safer and more cost-effective."
— NASA to Test Solution for Radiation-Tolerant Computing in Space - NASA, Dennis Harris (NASA Marshall) quote

"Measure the radiation environment on the lunar surface at the south pole."
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: DN-012 L: In situ lunar surface radiation environment measurements and space weather monitoring, Description

Open questions

• FO's page says RadPC flew 'more than 100 hours' on Aerostar balloons; the FY2021 report says 'more than 80 hours' over the two 2021 flights. Which is right?
• Was the September 2019 World View balloon flight (CyberCat) an FO flight? FO's FY2019 report shows RadSat after a World View flight, but FO counts four flights.
• Which programs paid NNX10AN32A and NNX13AR03A? The award records do not name them.
• What FO paid for the four flights, and how the 2014 and 2016 rocket costs were split with GCD: FO records.