Seven of BAE System’s RAD750™ computers will now enable a new NASA satellite to examine gamma rays, the most intense and elusive form of radiation in the universe. Seven of the company’s RAD750™ computers are aboard the Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope (GLAST) on a mission to measure and characterize the high-energy radiation emitted by black holes and emerging neutron stars.
There are seven BAE Systems’ computers aboard GLAST, and of those, two control spacecraft functions such as position-keeping and data-handling. The remaining five manage functions on the satellite’s scientific instrument. Following a 60-day checkout and calibration period, GLAST will transmit more than 100 gigabits of information daily to NASA scientists.
The RAD750 computer is the most technologically advanced of three radiation-hardened single-board microprocessors BAE Systems builds for the space industry. Since the mid-1980s, BAE Systems has been the leading provider of radiation technology, components, and single-board computers. With the launch of GLAST, there are now almost 500 BAE Systems single-board computers in space providing mission processing on 170 satellites. These satellites perform communications, science, and defense applications for a wide range of customers.
