X2000 power system electronics development [Europa Orbiter mission]

• Published in: 2002 IEEE Aerospace Conference. Proceedings. Vol. 5 Vol. 5; p. 5
• Main Authors: Carr, G.A., Wester, G., Sauers, J., Danielak, B., Haskell, R., Hogue, D.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2002
• Subjects: Aerospace electronics; Costs; Driver circuits; Heart; Ice; Oceans; Power systems; Satellites; Solar system; Space vehicles
• ISBN: 078037231X; 9780780372313
• ISSN: 1095-323X
• DOI: 10.1109/AERO.2002.1035421

The Europa Orbiter mission, currently baselined for launch in 2008, is intended to follow up on tantalizing results from the Galileo spacecraft, data from which suggests that there may be a global ocean underneath the Jovian satellite Europa's water ice crust. Europa orbit is propulsively one of the most difficult destinations to reach in the Solar System, making mass a major driver of mission cost. The combination of high radiation and the need for low-mass and -power electronics led to the X2000 avionics development activity, which is now at the core of the Europa Orbiter project. At the heart of the X2000 development are rad-hard, high performance application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), which may be utilized either on the avionics "slices" for which they are being designed, or separately if that is beneficial to a user. The Europa mission provides a challenge in terms of extreme environmental requirements. The key driving requirements are the one mega-rad total ionizing dose and the fourteen-year life. The X2000 power system electronics (PSE) must reduce its power, mass and volume envelope by incorporating new technology developed by industry partners.