The objective of this task is to leverage NASA GSFCs expertise and facilities to characterize the radiation performance of commercial GPUs, and identify the mission applications in which GPU technology can enable greater returns and further spacecraft capabilities. Under an internal research and development effort, Cubic Aerospace is investigating the utility and application of a GPU-based payload processor for space. GPUs provide an order of magnitude improvement over current state-of-the-art space processors with regards to SWaP, cost, and development schedule. The radiation susceptibility of COTS GPUs and their mission applicability is of great interest to NASA and is listed under ACO Technology Topic 2 as an electronics development effort applicable to new space activities. To date, Cubic's research indicates that commercial GPUs may be well-suited for a range of space missions. This research includes architecture evaluation, assessment of application performance, and preliminary radiation evaluation. Cubic is interested in working with NASA under this ACO to further explore the feasibility of flying COTS GPUs in space as doing so will further enable the development of a next generation, highly capable processor, while also providing a quantitative evaluation of the benefits and applicability of GPUs to NASA mission areas.
More »This project provides an option for high performance onboard processing for sensor data reduction and/or machine learning applications. Based on a GPU as the processing element, this development provides improved performance over exising general purpose spaceflight computers, while providing simpler programmability than an FPGA.
More »Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) | Lead Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |