RAD750

The RAD750 is a radiation-hardened single-board computer manufactured by BAE Systems Electronics, Intelligence & Support.^[1] The successor of the RAD6000, the RAD750 is for use in high-radiation environments experienced on board satellites and spacecraft.^[2] The RAD750 was released in 2001, with the first units launched into space in 2005.^[1][3]

RAD750

The RAD750
General information
Launched	2001
Designed by	IBM
Common manufacturer	BAE
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate	110 MHz  to 200 MHz
Cache
L1 cache	32 KB instruction + 32 KB data
Architecture and classification
Application	Radiation-hardened
Technology node	250 nm to 150 nm
Microarchitecture	PowerPC 750
Instruction set	PowerPC v.1.1
Physical specifications
Cores	1
History
Predecessor	RAD6000
Successor	RAD5500

Technology

The CPU has 10.4 million transistors, an order of magnitude more than the RAD6000 (which had 1.1 million).^[3] It is manufactured using either 250 or 150 nm photolithography and has a die area of 130 mm².^[1] It has a core clock of 110 to 200 MHz and can process at 266 MIPS or more.^[1] The CPU can include an extended L2 cache to improve performance.^[3] The CPU can withstand an absorbed radiation dose of 2,000 to 10,000 grays (200,000 to 1,000,000 rads), temperatures between −55 °C and 125 °C, and requires 5 watts of power.^[1][3] The standard RAD750 single-board system (CPU and motherboard) can withstand 1,000 grays (100,000 rads), temperatures between −55 °C and 70 °C, and requires 10 watts of power.^[3]

The RAD750 system has a price that is comparable to the RAD6000, the latter of which as of 2002 was listed at US$200,000 (equivalent to $349,639 in 2024).^[4] Customer program requirements and quantities, however, greatly affect the final unit costs.^{[citation needed]}

The RAD750 is based on the PowerPC 750.^[1] Its packaging and logic functions are completely compatible with the PowerPC 7xx family.^[3]

The term RAD750 is a registered trademark of BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.^[5]

Deployment

In 2010, it was reported that there were over 150 RAD750s used in a variety of spacecraft.^[6] Notable examples,^[2] in order of launch date, include:

• Deep Impact comet-chasing spacecraft, launched in January 2005 – first to use the RAD750 computer.^[2]
• XSS 11, small experimental satellite, launched 11 April 2005.^[2]
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched 12 August 2005.^[2]
• SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation) instrument package^[7] on each of the STEREO spacecraft, launched 15 October 2006.
• WorldView-1 satellite, launched 18 September 2007, has two RAD750s.^[6]
• Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly GLAST, launched 11 June 2008.
• Kepler space telescope, launched in March 2009.^[2]
• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on 18 June 2009.
• Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), launched 14 December 2009.^[8]
• Solar Dynamics Observatory, launched 11 February 2010.
• Juno spacecraft, launched 5 August 2011.^[9]
• Curiosity rover, launched 26 November 2011.^[10]
• Van Allen Probes, launched on 30 August 2012.^[11]
• InSight, launched on 5 May 2018.^[12]
• Perseverance rover, launched 30 July 2020.^[13]
• James Webb Space Telescope, launched 25 December 2021, uses one RAD750 clocked at 118 MHz.^[14]
• Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory