NASA SBIR 2022-I Solicitation

Proposal Summary

Proposal Information

Proposal Number:
22-1- Z2.02-1130
Subtopic Title:
High-Performance Space Computing Technology
Proposal Title:
High-Performance Space Computing Technology

Small Business Concern

   
Firm:
          
Space Micro, Inc.
          
   
Address:
          
15378 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128
          
   
Phone:
          
(858) 332-0700                                                                                                                                                                                
          

Principal Investigator:

   
Name:
          
Mr. Gerald Meyer
          
   
E-mail:
          
gmeyer@spacemicro.com
          
   
Address:
          
15378 Avenue of Science, CA 92128 - 3451
          
   
Phone:
          
(858) 332-0700                                                                                                                                                                                
          

Business Official:

   
Name:
          
David Strobel
          
   
E-mail:
          
dstrobel@spacemicro.com
          
   
Address:
          
15378 Avenue of Science, CA 92128 - 3451
          
   
Phone:
          
(858) 332-0700                                                                                                                                                                                
          

Summary Details:

   
Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) :                                                                                                                                                          
Begin: 3
End: 5
          
          
     
Technical Abstract (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words):

NASA needs enhanced high-performance space computing technology for future missions. Current radiation hardened solutions are power inefficient and lack significant computing performance compared to current commercial capabilities. Some modern technology or process nodes have inherent radiation resistance due to the fabrication methods; partially depleted, fully depleted, and FinFET gates; and the use of silicon-on-insulator. Combining processors implemented with these technologies alongside Space Micro’s patented upset mitigation techniques, blind scrubbing, and execution checkpoints, yield a space-grade COTS processor with 1000 times more performance than current radiation-hardened processors.

Space Micro proposes the development of a 3U SpaceVPX, radiation-tolerant, high-performance, reconfigurable single board computer (SBC) based on the Xilinx Versal VC1902. Space Micro has named this new SBC the Proton High-Performance Reconfigurable (PHiRe™) SBC. This SBC offers enhanced parallel processing and artificial intelligence power, much to the effect of a supercomputer cluster. The main system would have the ability to reconfigure this SBC to scale up and down performance of the scalar and parallel processing units to limit power dissipation, specifying a specific state depending on the needs of the current task.

The PHiRe™ SBC utilizes the Xilinx 7nm Versal VC1902 which provides dual ARM Cortex-A72 application processors, dual ARM Cortex-R5F real-time processors, 400 artificial intelligence inference engines, 1,968 DSP engines, and 1,968 reprogrammable system logic cells which combine to provide the following figures of merit:

  • AI Engine Peak Performance:                      8 TFLOPS
  • DSP Engine Peak Performance:                  3.2 TFLOPS
  • Adaptable Engine Peak Performance:     29 TOPS
  • Arm Cortex-A72 Peak Performance:        18,942 DMIPS
  • Arm Cortex-R5F Peak Performance:         2.672 DMIPS
          
          
     
Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words):
Our cross-cutting space product with enable current and potential NASA space missions, JUICE, WFIRST, NISAR, Lucy, Psyche, IXPE, Restore, Hermes, Whipple, TiME, Hera, Chopper, ectc. which encompass both Discovery-class and SMEX missions. Future NIAC missions such as KST, PuFF, LEAVES, and R-MXAS could benefit. Space Micro will manufacture and market this product to NASA customers, after design verification in Phase II spacecraft primes will be more comfortable with the higher TRL.
          
          
     
Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words):

The product evolving from this SBIR will accommodate a wide range of space customers including emerging commercial constellations from the likes of TeleSat, Inmarsat, HeliosWire, Saturn, Astranis, Audacy, WorldVu, SpaceX, Iceye, and Blue Origin. There are also a number of DoD space mission applications for small satellites. 

          
          
     
Duration:     6
          
          

Form Generated on 05/25/2022 15:38:14