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Computers in Space Examined

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-in-spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace dept.

Wil Harris writes "There's an article about the computers used in space missions over at bit-tech this morning. It covers the processor types and speeds, why space stations are less powerful than the laptops that astronauts take up with them and why tape storage is still de rigeur. An interesting and concise couple o' pages."

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  1. Solid state recorder on board the Hubble by helioquake · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just like Cassini, the Hubble also has on-board solid state recorder (installed during one of the servicing missions), which replaced an old tape recorder. This has been really a nice addition as we can store more data into the solid state device while collecting data bits and dump them when the downlink becomes available. It really helps increase the efficiency of the satellite (and that's a big thing for science mission).

    [Note that I've simplified the scheme alot here.]

    Though several sections of the device have been damaged by radiation, or something, I hear. So even these things aren't too resilent to the harsh space environment, yet. Something you future engineers should think about as a project.