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May 09 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine Changing how satellites are builtLab researcher applies supercomputing power skyward
Mark Dunham of Threat Reduction shows the Direct Conversion Receiver assembly of the just-delivered TeraOps Software Radio. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez
Editor’s note: These are the first two articles in a series that features the Laboratory’s 2009 R&D 100 Award applicants and their Using commercial electronics in space exploration is critical to America’s staying in the lead, according to Mark Dunham, a Threat Reduction senior projects leader. The Reconfigurable Computing team he co-founded continues to lead the nation in this novel approach to high reliability satellite systems. In 1999, the team built the Cibola satellite into the first space supercomputing satellite. In April, they delivered to Lockheed-Martin a fourth-generation payload called the TeraOps Software Radio, capable of performing 40 billion operations per watt of power in a dictionary-sized payload. “Employing commercial off-the-shelf parts, this Software Radio demonstrates graphically that one TeraOps of processing power may be had in a 40-watt, 14-pound box,” said Dunham. “Compare this to the Mountain Blue supercomputer, which occupied an entire floor of the Laboratory Data Communications Center Building for the same integer computing capability.” The TeraOps Software Radio, which merited submission for a 2009 R&D 100 Award, was tested on the ground using accelerators, as well as thermal cycling, vibration, and other testing to simulate the space environment. It is scheduled to launch in fiscal year 2010. The team now is developing ground control systems and payload data processing/storage. “Mark and his team’s work is a leap toward moving computing resources from ground to space applications,” said Glenn Mara, Principal Associate Director for Weapons Programs. “And their use of off-the-shelf materials to achieve this represents the kind of innovative thinking that’s critical to cost-effective technology solutions.” When away from the Lab, Dunham, who holds five patents and a master of science degree in electrical engineering from University of Arizona, is active with international conservation organizations and in community service through the Lutheran Church. Of his breakthrough technology, he said, “At least 25 percent of all electronics components worldwide are useful in the most valuable orbits, low-earth and geosynchronous. This gives the USA a large pool of state-of-the-art components for building our space systems, ensuring they lead the global pack in performance. In military systems, leading the pack is a life-and-death matter.” --Mig Owens Other Headlines
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