Roid Rage Paint It White, But Make It Conductive
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Nov 20, 2025 Explore the intricate world of designing space electronics to withstand harsh cosmic conditions. Discover the threats posed by solar flares and cosmic rays, and how different environments challenge spacecraft more than terrestrial tech. Learn about the innovative strategies for shielding and protecting components, like using conductive coatings and redundancy in design. The fascinating discussion covers everything from radiation testing methods to preventing disastrous electric discharges, making it a must-listen for anyone curious about space technology!
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Deep Space Radiation Differs From LEO
- Deep-space environments differ significantly from low-Earth orbit due to absence of Van Allen belt protection and different radiation sources.
- Solar wind, coronal mass ejections, and galactic cosmic rays create distinct risks that shape spacecraft design.
Use ECC And Architect For SEEs
- Design memory and processors with ECC and disable vulnerable caches to avoid bit flips from single-event effects.
- Prefer parts with error-correction and architect software to recover by power-cycling or redundancy.
Two Radiation Damage Modes
- Radiation causes both single-event effects and cumulative total ionizing dose that change semiconductor behavior.
- TID traps charge in parts and eventually alters switching until the component fails.