Actel's Space FPGAs Return to Mars
Radiation-Tolerant and Radiation-Hardened Devices Integrated Throughout
All Phases of the Mars Exploration - From Launch Vehicles to Rovers
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 10, 2004 —
In a stunning sequel
to the 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission, Actel Corporation announced today
that its radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened field-programmable
gate arrays (FPGAs) have returned to Mars, playing critical roles throughout
the missions, both American and European. From Delta launch vehicles
to orbiting, landing and actively roving the surface of the planet, Actel
has provided hundreds of FPGAs to enable implementation of various mission-critical
digital logic functions, including power management, attitude and orbit
control, command and data handling, and instrumentation and telemetry.
The space-optimized FPGAs were chosen because of the inherent benefits
of the company's nonvolatile products - proven reliability at extreme
temperatures and live at power-up functionality all on a single chip,
which reduces component count, thereby minimizing power consumption and
saving board space and weight.
"Since 1990, Actel's space FPGAs have been onboard more than 100
launches and accepted for flight-unit applications on more than 300 satellites.
When the Mars Pathfinder rover landed on Mars in 1997, it was Actel devices
that helped to send back thousands of amazing photographs - a clear measure
of the success of that mission," explained Barry Marsh, vice president,
product marketing, Actel Corporation. "Today, Actel's devices continue
to be ubiquitous in the exploration of space with hundreds of devices
utilized for multiple Mars missions. We are pleased to reinforce our
role as a critical player in the technology behind the major breakthrough
occurring in space today and we will continue to design, test and develop
cutting-edge products for use in space."
The Actel radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened devices provided
critical functions on the Delta launch vehicles, which propelled the
Spirit and Opportunity spacecrafts toward Mars. During the six-month
flight from Earth to Mars, Actel's devices were employed on central system
computers, performing navigation activities, including star tracking
and sun sensing. On each of the Mars Explorer rovers, Actel's space FPGAs
are the "heart and soul" of the 10 cameras, which capture astounding
images of the planet's surface. The devices also enable key radio communications,
which relay those images back to the orbiters.
Aboard the orbiters, the devices enable the relay stations, which transmit
images and vital control information between Mars and Earth. Specifically,
on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, Actel's offerings
are also being leveraged for many mission-critical functions, including
the solid state recorders, which alone use more than 20 Actel FPGAs.
Over the last decade, Actel FPGAs have been onboard more than 100 launches
and flown on over 300 satellites, including Atlas II, Echostar, SBIRS-High,
International Space Station, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Explorer Rovers 1
and 2, Mars Express Orbiter, Spirit and Opportunity Rovers, and the Hubble
Space Telescope.
About Actel
Actel Corporation is a supplier of innovative programmable
logic solutions, including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) based
on antifuse and flash technologies, high-performance intellectual property
(IP) cores, software development tools and design services, targeted
for the high-speed communications, application-specific integrated
circuit (ASIC) replacement and radiation-tolerant markets. Founded
in 1985, Actel employs more than 500 people worldwide. The Company
is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACTL and is
headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA, 94043-4655.
Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet: http://www.actel.com.
Contact: Stephanie Mrus, Actel Corporation, 650.318.4614
