Burlington's Green Mountain Semiconductor is working to develop new technologies for NASA that will ensure safer travel and missions for astronauts. Wolfgang Hokenmayer, co-founder of Green Mountain Semiconductor, said high levels of radiation in space are known to damage NASA's current spaceflight computer systems. This system controls the cameras, navigation, etc. needed by astronauts during landing. “If you're trying to land on the surface of a planet like Mars, and cameras are trying to control the landing, and there's a particularly radioactive solar flare, you can't just say, 'Well, I don't.' plug. “We're going to turn off the computer during this phase of the flight,” Hawkenmayer said, “because we're going to fall to Mars. Right? So we need a computer that can run without continuous reboots. ” Hawkenmayer said his company applied for the position and was hired by NASA to try to solve the problem. Green Mountain Semiconductor is collaborating with Essex Junction's GlobalFoundries to create what NASA calls high-performance spacecraft computing. The goal is to develop technology to make spaceflight computers more durable and radiation-resistant, he said, adding that the system's blueprints are complete and his company has received $850,000 from the United States. NASA plans to begin the second phase, and “with this next round of funding and possibly funding from other sources, we're going to execute a complete design for that,” he said. Stated. “We will create a small test vehicle to perform radiation tests to demonstrate early on the ability to achieve our goals, and from there we will build a larger prototype,” Hokenmayer said. , said they plan to develop a prototype that exhibits functional capabilities by 2030. NASA said it plans to use the new system on missions starting in 2040.
Burlington's Green Mountain Semiconductor is working to develop new technologies for NASA that will ensure safer travel and missions for astronauts.
Wolfgang Hokenmayer, co-founder of Green Mountain Semiconductor, said high levels of radiation in space are known to damage NASA's current spaceflight computer systems. This system controls the cameras, navigation, etc. needed by astronauts during landing.
“If you're trying to land on the surface of a planet like Mars, and cameras are trying to control the landing, and there's a particularly radioactive solar flare, you can't just say, 'Well, I don't.' plug. “We're going to turn off the computer during this phase of the flight,” Hawkenmayer said, “because we're going to fall to Mars. Right? So we need a computer that can run without having to constantly reboot.” is.”
Hokenmayer said his company applied for the position and was hired by NASA to help solve the problem. Green Mountain Semiconductor is working with his GlobalFoundries in Essex Junction to develop what NASA calls high-performance spacecraft computing.
Hawkenmayer said the goal is to use artificial intelligence to develop technology that will make NASA's spaceflight computers more durable and radiation-resistant. He added that the blueprint for the system is complete and his company has received $850,000 from NASA to launch the second phase.
“With this next round of funding, and possibly other funding from other sources, we're going to execute a complete design for this,” he said. “We're going to build a small test vehicle to do some radiation testing to give an early indication of performance that meets our targets.” From there, we build a larger prototype. ”
Hokenmayer said the plan is to develop a prototype that demonstrates functional capabilities by 2030. NASA said it plans to use the new system on missions starting in 2040.
