Yosemite Space worked as part of Team Miles to win the NASA Cube Quest Competition, Ground Tournament 1. Yosemite Space contributed radiation shielding designs and mitigation strategies, structure designs and onboard computing. Team Miles will fly Yosemite Space’s Resilient Affordable Cubesat Processor (RACP) as part of the NASA contest.
The NASA Cube Quest Challenge is a competition to build flight-qualified, small satellites capable of advanced communication and propulsion near and beyond the moon. Teams that achieve top performance at high-speed data communications, navigation and survival after achieving lunar orbit or a minimum long-distance range from Earth compete for an unprecedented $5.5 million prize purse in NASA’s first ever in-space challenge. Cube Quest is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program, which accelerates technology by engaging non-traditional sources in competition.
Yosemite Space’s RACP is a power-efficient high-performance space computer design for low-Earth orbit (LEO) and deep space missions. RACP’s hybrid design delivers fault tolerance, data integrity, and scalable performance. RACP’s physical dimensions and low power consumption make it ideal for vehicles as small as CubeSats. RACP can support processing data from multiple sensors and any needed autonomous processing and control. Processors will run a Linux operating system, which means that mission software can be built and tested with standard open source software tools. Finally, components of RACP will be screened through radiation testing to ensure that the computer will operate reliably.
The winning teams will be formally recognized Wednesday, Sept. 9, during a media telecom, and there will be an opportunity for media to interact with teams and challenge personnel. For a full list of all of the winners in NASA Cube Quest Challenge Ground Tournament Round 1, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/centennial_challenges/cubequest/nasa-awards-first-round-prizes-in-cube-quest-challenge.html .
About Yosemite Space
Yosemite Space, based in Groveland, CA, has a primary focus on developing innovative products for space applications. Members of Yosemite Space collectively have over 50 years of experience developing innovative, reliable technology for space applications. Members have experience in software engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering and electrical engineering. For more information, please visit: http://yosemitespace.com/
About Team Miles
Team Miles is a group of citizen scientists focused upon low cost space exploration. Team members stretch from coast to coast, though a majority can be found at the Tampa Hackerspace in Florida. For more information, please visit: http://miles-space.com/
Photo credit: www.aanc-astronomy.org