The evaluation of a SoC processor as an on-board computer for a low earth orbit satellite

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The use of commercial-off-the-shelf components in low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systemshas become a very popular design trend. Not only are many of these componentssufficiently radiation tolerant, but are also less expensive than their space qualified counterparts.Commercial processors are already used in the on-board computer (OBC) ofsatellites like SUNSAT 2004, CanX and SNAP-I. With the increasing demand for smaller,less expensive satellites and a shorter time-to-market window, the feasibility of implementinga satellite's OBC as a system-on-a-chip (SoC) is now considered.This thesis describes a single-chip implementation, excluding memory, of a LEO microsatellite'sOBC on the commercial grade Altera Excalibur embedded processor. Atypical satellite OBC system was developed on the Excalibur device to test the functionalityand performance of the device as a single-chip OBC.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University