Montana State University — RadPC Radiation-Tolerant FPGA¶
FO Project: 91411 — FPGA-based Radiation-Tolerant Computer System
Period: 2013-12-01 – 2017-08-31
TRL: 5→7 (FO arc) → TRL 9 by 2025
Lead Org: Montana State University – Bozeman (PI: Brock LaMeres; co-I Todd Kaiser)
Program: Flight Opportunities → CLPS
Views: 940
Summary¶
The clearest academic FO → lunar surface arc in the portfolio. Montana State's radiation-tolerant FPGA computer ("RadPC") progressed from FO suborbital/parabolic validation (TRL 5→7, 2013-2017) to ISS deployment (Dec 2016), two ISS-deployed CubeSats (2018, 2020), a commercial spinoff (Resilient Computing, ~2020-21), and ultimately a successful lunar surface operation on Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 (March 2025) — TRL 9 fully achieved. One of the highest-impact academic FO projects in the portfolio.
Downstream $: $1.6M NASA CLPS award (2019) + Resilient Computing $2.79M federal contracts (tracked) + commercial spinoff (undisclosed)
Technology¶
RadPC: Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA running 16 soft processor cores with Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) fault detection, partial reconfiguration to recover from bitflips, and automatic spare-core activation. Claimed 3× more radiation-stable than state-of-the-art satellite computers at lower cost.
Problem solved: Commercial FPGA fabrics are susceptible to SEE (single event effects) from cosmic radiation. RadPC demonstrated that COTS FPGAs can be made reliably radiation-tolerant through architectural techniques (no radiation-hardened silicon required), dramatically reducing cost.
Full Arc: FO to Moon¶
| Milestone | Date | TRL | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| RadPC@scale FO demo [106701] | 2020–2023 | 6→7 | Suborbital (full-scale system) |
| Candida albicans autonomous hardware [106658] | 2021–2024 | 7→7 | Suborbital (biology payload using RadPC hardware) |
| Sounding rocket test (Wallops) | Mar 7, 2016 | ~5 | Sounding rocket |
| RTcMISS installed on ISS (HTV-6/Kounotori 6) | Dec 13, 2016 | 6 | ISS / NanoRacks Platform-1 |
| RTcMISS 12-month ISS operation | 2017 | 7 | ISS (Module 63 operated; Module 72 failed to return telemetry) |
| RadSat-g deployed from ISS (OA-9/NG-9 → JEM deployer, NORAD 43553) | Jul 13, 2018 | 8 | 3U CubeSat |
| RadSat-u deployed from ISS (NG-12) | Feb 2020 | 8 | 3U CubeSat (undergraduate-built) |
| Resilient Computing founded (MSU spinoff, licensed RadPC IP) | ~2020-21 | commercial | Bozeman, MT |
| $1.6M NASA CLPS award for lunar surface demo | 2019 | — | Firefly Blue Ghost M1 |
| Blue Ghost lunar landing (Mare Crisium) | Mar 2, 2025 | 9 | Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost |
| RadPC operates for 14-day lunar day + 5+ hrs lunar night | Mar 2–16, 2025 | 9 | Lunar surface |
Blue Ghost result: RadPC was one of 8 of 10 payloads confirmed successful. Operated continuously for 346 hours during the lunar day plus 5+ hours into lunar night. Returned 119+ GB of radiation/temperature data. Hardware: ~4 inches square, 0.5 inches thick.
Upstream Lineage¶
- FO suborbital/parabolic testing matured the core RadPC architecture (2013-2017)
- TechPort outcome record: "Advanced To" → 91756 (Variable Geometry Radiators, completed, Aug 2014 — separate Texas A&M project, likely a personnel/partner link not a direct technology advance)
- NASA grants: Sep 2017 (NASA grant to launch RadSat-g from ISS), Jan 2017 (two MSU grants for student flight research)
ISS Deployment Details¶
RTcMISS (Radiation Tolerant Computer Mission on ISS): - Flew on JAXA HTV-6 (Kounotori 6), berthed ISS Dec 13, 2016 - NanoRacks Platform-1 (NREP) facility - Two modules: Module 63 (successful), Module 72 (no telemetry) - Operated ~12 months throughout 2017 - Hardware returned to MSU in 2018 for post-flight analysis
RadSat-g (3U CubeSat): - Launched on Orbital ATK OA-9 (NG-9), March 2018 - Deployed from ISS Jul 13, 2018 via NanoRacks JEM deployer (NORAD 43553) - Confirmed RadPC architecture in-orbit under actual space radiation - Downlinked data to MSU ground station ~1-2 passes/week
RadSat-u (3U CubeSat — undergraduate-built): - Launched Nov 2, 2019 on NG-12 - Deployed from ISS Feb 2020 - Added solar cell/radiation sensor experiment
Commercial Spinoff + Own FO Project¶
Resilient Computing (Bozeman, MT): - Founded ~2020-21 by LaMeres with MSU Technology Transfer Office support - MSU licensed RadPC patent on royalty basis - Actively marketing radiation-tolerant space computers - Blue Ghost success (March 2025) likely significant for commercial pipeline
Resilient Computing's own FO project [184144] — dual-FO arc confirmed:
Resilient Computing was awarded its own active FO project: Fault Tolerant RISC-V Flight Computer with Coprocessor Support (RadPC+Coprocessor) [TRL 6→8, Jun 2025 – Jun 2028].
This is the same dual-FO arc pattern as NDL/Psionic [91351]+[106687]: NASA-developed technology gets FO-funded early (MSU [91411], 2013-2017), licenses to a commercial company, and that company then gets its own FO project for the next-generation version.
| FO Project | Who | Period | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91411 | Montana State University | 2013-2017 | RadPC base architecture — TRL 5→7 |
| 184144 | Resilient Computing LLC | 2025-2028 | RadPC+ with RISC-V architecture + coprocessor — TRL 6→8 |
RadPC+ enhancements (from TechPort [184144]): - Moved from Xilinx Artix-7 to modern FPGA with RISC-V architecture - Added coprocessor support for AI/ML inference in space - PI: Chris Major (Resilient Computing); co-I: Brock LaMeres (MSU — the original PI) - Patent portfolio: US 11,966,284; 12,050,688; 12,287,713
Federal contracts (Resilient Computing): - NASA SBIR Ph III: $1.29M (Jun 2023 – Mar 2027) — "Fault Tolerant RISC-V Flight Computer with Coprocessor Support" - NASA SBIR Ph II: $900K (Jun 2024 – Jun 2026) — "Real-Time Hardware Configurable Coprocessors" - NASA SBIR Ph I: $156.5K (Aug 2023) + $156.5K (Jul 2022) + $131.5K (May 2021) - DoD SOCOM STTR Ph I: $150K — special operations feasibility study - Total tracked: $2.79M (all NASA + DoD SOCOM)
Loft Federal won a NASA task order specifically for the RadPC+ RISC-V flight computer (production/deployment contract — details not in USASpending).
Outcome Category¶
Mission Infusion (TRL 9 — Lunar Surface) + Commercial Spinoff
Archetype 1 (Mission Infusion) — the strongest academic example in the FO portfolio. FO provided the early validation that justified ISS deployment, which justified the CubeSat flights, which justified the CLPS award.
Confidence¶
Confirmed. ISS deployment (Dec 2016) documented in TechPort description with ISS Research Explorer links. Blue Ghost lunar landing covered by Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Firefly press releases, and NASA mission blog.
Open Threads¶
- What is LaMeres' next project post-Blue Ghost? (TechPort shows co-I on deep-space PNT project [155360], 2023-2025, MSU lead for University of Minnesota)
- Has Resilient Computing received venture funding or commercial customers beyond NASA? Loft Federal won a task order for RadPC+ deployment — first confirmed non-NASA customer pathway. Further commercial customers not yet visible.
- Any follow-on CLPS award for RadPC-2 or RadPC+? FO project [184144] runs through Jun 2028 — CLPS award likely to follow.
- Dual-FO arc is confirmed: MSU [91411] (2013-2017) → Resilient Computing [184144] (2025-2028). One of only two known dual-FO arcs in the portfolio (other: NDL/Psionic [91351]+[106687]).