BAE SYSTEMS' RAD750 Computers Support Air Force Experiment Satellite.MANASSAS, Va. -- BAE Systems' radiation hardened microprocessors (RAD (1) (Rapid Application Development) Developing systems incrementally and delivering working pieces every three to four months, rather than waiting until the entire project is programmed before implementing it. 750) are supporting another U.S. space exploration, this time for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Experimental Satellite System-11 (XSS-11) spacecraft. The mission was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 3,456 acres (1,399 hectares), SW Calif., near Lompoc; chief Pacific coast launch site for military satellites. , Calif., April 11, boosting the satellite into Earth orbit. The RAD750 single board computer, built at BAE Systems' Manassas, Va., facility, is the backbone of the spacecraft's command and data handling system, designed by Broad Reach Engineering Company. BAE Systems' program manager Tom Bowmaster said, "The RAD750 will provide the necessary computing power in the command and data handling subsystem of the spacecraft, which enables control and telemetry telemetry Highly automated communications process by which data are collected from instruments located at remote or inaccessible points and transmitted to receiving equipment for measurement, monitoring, display, and recording. in flying the XSS-11." The mission will last 12 to 18 months. The XSS-11 will demonstrate new autonomous satellite features during encounters with six or seven spent rocket stages and inactive U.S. satellites. The microsatellite See miniaturized satellite. project is designed to test technologies that allow quick visual examinations or even maintenance of spacecraft in orbit. BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. has a 20-year history of providing radiation-hardened solutions for U.S. space programs. Its RAD6000 computers were installed on each of the still-operating Mars Rovers A Mars rover is an unmanned rover used for exploration of the planet Mars. They are deployed because it has so far been too costly and difficult to achieve a manned mission to Mars, and because probes and satellites are too limited (due to their immobility or their distance from - the only control and data computers aboard the two Rovers - to execute flight, landing and exploration operations on Mars. The RAD750 represents the next-generation of space microprocessors, and was first launched onboard Refers to a chip or other hardware component that is directly attached to the printed circuit board (motherboard). Contrast with offboard. See inboard. NASA's Deep Impact mission. BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. BAE Systems North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. is one of America's foremost national security, aerospace and information systems companies. Broad Reach Engineering Company develops and manufactures high-performance spacecraft hardware and software solutions for scientific, commercial, and military applications. The company's product line includes spacecraft avionics, including power and command and data handling, precision GPS receivers for space, spacecraft flight software, ground support hardware and software, and custom electronics for use on space missions. In addition Broad Reach Engineering Company provides systems engineering services for space missions. Broad Reach Engineering Company is a privately held small business with locations in Tempe, AZ and Golden, CO. To obtain additional information about us, visit "What's News" at: www.iews.na.baesystems.com |
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