Spaceborne Digital Computer Systems
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NASA NASA SP-8070 SPACE VEHICLE DESIGN CRITERIA (GUIDANCE AND CONTROL) SPACEBORNE DIGITAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS CASE FILE COPY MARCH 1971 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION GUIDE TO THE USE OF THIS MONOGRAPH The purpose of this monograph is to organize and present, for effective use in spacecraft devel- opment, the significant experience and knowledge accumulated in development and operational programs to date. It reviews and assesses current design practices, and from them establishes firm guidance for achieving greater consistency in design, increased reliability in the end product, and greater efficiency in the design effort. The monograph is organized into three major sections that are preceded by a brief Zntroduction and complemented by a set of References. The State of the Art, section 2, reviews and discusses the total design problem, and identifies which design elements are involved in successful designs. It describes succinctly the current tech- nology pertaining to these elements. When detailed information is required, the best available references are cited. This section serves as a survey of the subject that provides background material and prepares a proper technological base for the Design Criteria and Recommended Practices. The Design Criteria, shown in section 3, state clearly and briefly what rule, guide, limitation, or standard must be imposed on each essential design element to insure successful design. The Design Criteria can serve effectively as a checklist for the project manager to use in guiding a design or in assessing its adequacy. The Recommended Practices, as shown in section 4, state how to satisfy each of the criteria. When- ever possible, the best procedure is described; when this cannot be done concisely, appropriate references are provided. The Recommended Practices, in conjunction with the Design Criteria, provide positive guidance to the practicing designer on how to achieve successful design. Both sections have been organized into decimally numbered subsections so that the subjects within similarly numbered subsections correspond from section to section. The format for the Contents displays this continuity of subject in such a way that a particular aspect of design can be followed through both sections as a discrete subject. The design criteria monograph is not intended to be a design handbook, a set of specifications, or a design manual. It is a summary and a systematic ordering of the large and loosely organized body of existing successful design techniques and practices. Its value and its merit should be judged on how effectively it makes that material available to and useful to the user. i For sale by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151 - Price $3.00 FOREWORD NASA experience has indicated a need for uniform criteria for the design of space vehicles, Accordingly, criteria are being developed in the following areas of technology: Environment Structures Guidance and Control Chemical Propulsion Individual components of this work will be issued as separate monograps as soon as they are completed. This document, Spacehorne Digital Computer Systems, is one such monograph. A list of all previously issued monographs can be found at the back of this publication. These monographs serve as guides to NASA design and mission planning. They are used to develop requirements for specific projects and also are cited as the applicable references in mission studies and in contracts for design and development of space vehicle systems. This monograph was prepared for NASA under the cognizance of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Principal contributors were Mr. William C. Hoffman of Aero- space Systems, Inc., Professor Albert L. Hopkins, Jr. of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Mr. John P. Green, Jr. of Intermetrics, Inc. The program manager was Mr, John Zvara of Aerospace Systems, Inc. The effort was guided by an advisory panel which was chaired by Professor Hopkins. The follow- ing individuals participated in the advisory panel and monograph review activities : A. A. Avizienis University of California, Los Angeles D. 0. Baechler Bellcomm, Inc. T. C. Bartee Harvard University J. M. Black NASA Flight Research Center J. V. Christensen IVASA Ames Research Center B. M. Dobrotin Jet Propulsion Laboratory B. L. Dove NASA Langley Research Center B. J. Jansen UNIVAC, Defense Systems Division L. R. Manoni United Aircraft, Hamilton Standard Systems Center W. J. Patzer IBM, Federal Systems Division D. H. Schaeffer NASA Goddard Space Flight Center G. P. Talcott Raytheon Co., Equipment Division Vv7.E. VanderVe!de Massachiisetts 1ns:i:u:e of Techiio!ogj; Contributions in the form of design and development practices were also provided by many other engineers of NASA and the aerospace community. iii Comments concerning the technical content of this monograph will be welcomed by the Na- tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Advanced Research and Technology (Code RE), Washington, D.C. 20546. March 1971 iv CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ..................... 1 2 . STATE OF THE ART .................... 2 2.1 Spaceborne Computer Functions ................. 2 2.2 System Design ..................... 13 2.3 Physical Characteristics ................... 29 2.4 Environmental Design Factors ................. 33 2.5 Reliability and Fault Tolerance .................35 2.6 Testing and Checkout .................... 41 3. DESIGN CRITERIA .................. 43 3.1 Design Tradeoffs ..................... 43 3.2 System Design ..................... 44 3.3 Simulation ....................... 45 3.4 Testing and Checkout .................... 45 3.5 Reliability and Fault Tolerance ................. 46 4 . RECOMMENDED PRACTICES ..................46 4.1 Design Tradeoffs ..................... 47 4.2 System Design ..................... 49 4.3 Simulation ....................... 54 4.4 Testing and Checkout .................... 55 4.5 Reliability and Fault Tolerance ................. 56 REFERENCES ....................... 59 GLOSSARY .......... ... .. 65 NASA SPACE VEHICLE DESIGN CRITERIA MONOGRAPHS ISSUED TO DATE ....75 V SPACEBORNE DIGITAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS 1. INTRODUCTION As space vehicle missions have become more complex, the use of onboard digital computers has become more prevalent. The functions which these computers are assigned to perform are also expanding in number and magnitude. As a result, the problem of specifying and designing digital computers for space vehicles has increased in complexity. Although most spaceborne digital computers are of the type often referred to as “general purpose,” they have been in fact special-purpose machines in that a particular choice of design must reflect the requirements of the particular mission application. Thus, the program manager must be aware of the capabilities and limitations of spaceborne computer systems and the design tradeoffs which might affect his application. The flight performance of spaceborne digital computer systems has generally been successful. However, a number of recurring problems have been experienced during the design, develop- ment, and testing of these machines. Previous systems have been very costly, have required major redesigns, and have caused significant schedule delays. Most difficulties have resulted from 1) lack of adequate capacity and flexibility to accommodate expanded requirements, 2) poorly defined subsystem and interface specifications, 3) the impact on software of changing mission requirements, and 4) reliability demands. Important factors which influence the design and performance of spaceborne digital computer systems include: System architecture Computational capability (precision, speed, throughput, memory capacity, input/output capability, instruction repertoire, etc.) Adaptability (expandability, flexibility, compatibility, etc.) Provisions for interface with other components of the system Software (support and applications programs, ease of programming, etc.) Cost (money, weight, power, volume, time) Reliability related items (fault tolerance, failure rate, redundancy, ease of checkout, etc.) 0 Environment (temperature, shock and vibration, electromagnetic and nuclear radiation, noise, power fluctuations, etc.) Packaging and cabling design 1 The preferred design should consider the expanding nature of the requirements, potential advances in the technological state of the art, and the entire spectrum of environmental require- ments. It should strike a balance between hardware complexity and software simplicity, and facilitate simulation, testing, and checkout. This monograph discusses considerations which form a basis for the specification, design and evaluation of digital computer systems for spaceborne applications. Detailed discussion of the following items are outside the scope of this monograph: software development, mechanical and electrical design, hardware technology, I/Q equipment, displays, and test equipments or specifications. Related documents are SP-8053, “Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects on Materials,” June 1970 and SP-8054, “Space Radiation Protection,” June 1970. 2. STATE OF THE ART The state of the art of spaceborne digital computer systems has undergone a rapid development over the past decade and will continue to do so in the future. An onboard digital computer has now become essential for most new space vehicles. This section provides a brief description and appraisal of some of the design and flight experience of these systems, and the