Advanced Processors Technology Assessment Task 04022

1
Advanced Processors Technology AssessmentTask
04-022

• Description  
• A wide variety of processor requirements exist on
  NASA missions. Often these
• requirements can be met by more than one type of
  processor. This proposed
• task will provide a technology assessment of the
  most current new entrants
• to the market while providing a bridge to
  currently space qualified products.
• This will include PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, and other
  new market entrants.
• Benchmark NASA wide processor procurement and
  evaluation procedures.
• Determine knowledge gaps in vendor, literature,
  and NASA data as it relates
• to performance and possible NASA mission
  related failure modes.
• Comprehend architectural and technology
  variations as they relate to
• space applications.
• Quantify current packaging materials and thermal
  management options for
• improved performance.
• Quantify industry best practices in terms of both
  quality systems and reliability
• standards implementation. Include possible
  evolutionary steps from existing
• MIL-STDs.
• Compare off the shelf PC based test HW/SW options
  to industry specific testers
• for possible NASA Application Specific/General
  Test Environments (AS/GTE).

• Benefits
• Guidelines that encompass NASA community
  commonalities while
• recognizing site and mission specific
  uniqueness.
• Uniform knowledge base and NASA site
  cross-fertilization.
• Lay ground-work for possible low cost functional
  testing methodologies
• and alternatives.

• Products
• BOK providing
• Unified NASA wide processor procurement
  guidelines.
• Written survey of processor architecture and
  technology.
• A MIPS/mW benchmark of performance vs. power
  trade off to help designers
• choose appropriate processor for their
  specific needs.
• Assessment of processor status in terms of
  product lifecycle.

Schedule/Costs 60K
Risks
Red, Yellow, or Green
Non-NASA Organizations/Procurements
Lead Center/PIJPL/Doug Sheldon Co-IsGSFC/JSC Cen
ter Funding Split

• Product Insertion Plan
• Present findings/recommendations to NASA centers
  - MSFC, JSC,GRC,
• LaRC,GSFC
• Center wide web insertitions
• Trade journal articles

Tactical 7 , Slide 17