Abstract

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is actively researching and evaluating modern processor architectures, specifically ARM and RISC-V, for future use in spaceflight computing systems. This effort aims to overcome the severe performance limitations of current radiation-hardened space processors by adopting faster, more powerful commercial technologies. The ultimate goal is to enable higher data processing speeds and more complex, autonomous mission capabilities for future spacecraft.

Report

SwRI Researching ARM, RISC-V Processors For Faster Spaceflight Computers

Key Highlights

• Research Initiative: Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is spearheading a research effort to develop next-generation spaceflight computers capable of significantly higher performance.
• Architectural Candidates: The primary focus is on evaluating the performance and viability of modern processor architectures, specifically ARM and the open-source RISC-V ISA, for use in the space environment.
• Performance Goal: The core objective is to replace slower, legacy radiation-hardened processors with modern architectures that can handle the massive data processing demands of contemporary and future space missions.
• Modernization Trend: This research signals a major industry shift toward adopting high-performance instruction sets, often derived from Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technology, for critical space applications.

Technical Details

• Target Application: Onboard computing (OBC) systems for spacecraft, satellites, and probes, which require high reliability and tolerance to space radiation (TID and SEE).
• Architectures Under Study: ARM and RISC-V Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs). These ISAs are inherently more modular and powerful than many current rad-hard architectures.
• Challenge Addressed: Bridging the gap between the necessary reliability of radiation-hardened systems and the computational horsepower provided by modern COTS-level processors.
• Implementation Strategy (Implied): Research likely involves methods to effectively harden or implement redundancy strategies around these modern core designs to meet aerospace reliability standards without completely sacrificing speed.

Implications

• RISC-V Validation: Research and potential adoption by SwRI provides strong validation for the RISC-V ecosystem, placing the open standard directly into the competitive high-reliability, safety-critical aerospace sector against established architectures like ARM.
• Advancing Space Autonomy: Faster processors enable complex tasks like onboard AI, real-time sensor fusion, improved autonomous navigation, and rapid fault diagnosis, moving control logic closer to the edge (the satellite itself).
• Cost Efficiency: Utilizing COTS-derived or readily available open-source architectures like RISC-V could potentially reduce the historically high costs associated with designing and fabricating specialized, proprietary rad-hard chips.
• Ecosystem Expansion: If SwRI's research yields positive results, it will further encourage semiconductor manufacturers to invest heavily in developing radiation-tolerant components based on the RISC-V ISA.