Small satellites are running bigger missions. Learn how AI and efficient power systems let them think and act in space in real time.
The growing demand for smaller satellites with advanced computing capabilities and reliable onboard processors for missions lasting five to ten years is pushing the limits of modern ultradeep submicron FPGAs, ASICs, and their power delivery systems. These high-performance processors require low-voltage, high-current power, and their system design is further challenged by the need to manage thermal and radiation conditions in space.
To address this, Spacechips has launched its AI1 transponder, a compact onboard processor card featuring an ACAP (Adaptive Compute Acceleration Platform) AI accelerator. This reconfigurable receiver and transmitter delivers up to 133 tera operations per second (TOPS), enabling Earth observation, in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), signals intelligence (SIGINT), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and telecommunication applications. It supports real-time, autonomous computing while maintaining the reliability and longevity required for extended missions.
Low-Earth-orbit observation satellites can typically have direct line of sight over a given region only once every ten minutes. By using AI to fill these gaps, emergency management teams could make faster, better-informed decisions when direct communication with Earth is unavailable.
In space, AI-enabled computing requires precise power management due to constrained operating conditions, diverse mission types, and reliance on solar power. To meet these challenges, Spacechips partnered with Vicor to integrate Vicor’s Factorized Power Architecture (FPA) into the AI1 Transponder Board using high-density power modules. FPA separates DC-DC conversion into independent modules: the radiation-tolerant bus converter module (BCM) steps down and isolates voltage to 28V, while the pre-regulator module (PRM) regulates power to a voltage transformation module (VTM) or current multiplier, delivering 0.8V for computing loads.
The Vicor solution’s compact, power-dense design improves efficiency and flexibility, reducing size and weight while increasing power density for high-performance computing. With FPA, telecommunications and SIGINT operators can perform real-time onboard processing, autonomously adjusting RF frequency plans, channelization, modulation, and communication standards based on live traffic. Additionally, Vicor’s dual-powertrain modules provide built-in redundancy, enabling fault-tolerant operation with full load capacity on each side.
