18 Jan, 2023
The Radiation Hardened Electronics for Space Environments (RHESE) project aims to advance the state of the art in radiation-hardened electronics by creating high-performance devices that can endure the harsh radiation and temperature levels of the space environment. The use of miniature satellites as opposed to conventional ones has seen a dramatic increase in popularity in recent years. Additionally, the market has transitioned from the occasional use of tiny satellites for missions to their routine integration into satellite constellations. With the rapid expansion of small satellite constellations for applications such as Earth observation, remote sensing, and space-based broadband services, the demand for radiation-resistant electronic components has significantly increased. Several projects are underway to create high-tech, radiation-hardened electronics with improved capability to shield space perturbations at a low cost.
The demand for tiny satellites is increasing as there is a greater need for inexpensive satellite communication, which includes military monitoring and surveillance, television content delivery, cell phone connectivity, and agriculture surveillance. These commercial satellites are typically put into geosynchronous orbits for the best coverage, lasting 15 to 20 years. The number of communication satellites orbiting the earth is increasing, which has increased the demand for radiation-resistant electronics.
The field programmable gate array market is anticipated to grow as more military and aerospace applications, including waveform generation, image processing, and secure communication, adopt FPGAs in the coming years. The increased demand for better bandwidth creates opportunities for enhanced embedded FPGA design at low cost and power. They are frequently used for streaming, data processing, and massive data flows due to their low power consumption and high computational density. In recent years, FPGA-based accelerators have emerged as formidable competitors to GPU-based accelerators in cutting-edge cloud and edge computing systems. Increased usage in security, network processing, and deep packet inspection is anticipated to boost FPGA demand.
The demand for better radiation-hardened components, novel configurations, design approaches, and software models to increase the radiation tolerance of electronic components is being driven by the rise in the number of international space missions. The United States was the first to work with several space organizations and show interest in carrying out space exploration projects. The nation's production capacity, testing infrastructure, and skilled workforce make these duties more reachable. The country firmly favors expanding space travel and the commercial spacecraft industry. To expand access to space and conduct microgravity research atop the International Space Station, NASA and SpaceX launched Crew-4 in April 2022 with an all-civilian crew.
North America is the most dominant in the global radiation-hardened electronics market during the forecast period. The increasing need for radiation-resistant components in commercial and military satellite applications drives this dominance and expansion. Radiation-resistant microelectronics are required by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and other commercial sectors for projects like satellites and nuclear modernization efforts. The US government continuously tries to maintain and improve domestic capabilities in producing radiation-resistant microelectronic components.