Actel FPGAs Enable Advanced Understanding of the Red Planet
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Space-Optimized Devices Play Critical Role in Success of Multiple Mars Missions
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 4 -- Actel Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTL) today announced that its radiation-tolerant and radiation- hardened field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) perform critical functions throughout several ongoing Mars missions, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the Mars Express probe and the Mars Exploration Rovers -- Spirit and Opportunity. Used to enable cameras, radio communications, on- board instruments and relay stations, the Actel FPGAs have allowed scientists to capture and transmit astounding images of the planet's surface, including previously unexamined regions, such as the Connecticut-sized Gusev Crater.
"The use of Actel products in such extreme and critical conditions is a testament to the performance and high reliability of our technology," explained Ken O'Neill, director of military and aerospace product marketing at Actel. "Since the 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission, Actel has provided hundreds of FPGAs to various Mars missions to enable implementation of mission-critical digital logic functions aboard everything from launch vehicles to orbiters, landers and rovers. We are proud to continue to participate in the gathering of knowledge about the universe in which we live."
Actel's space-optimized FPGAs are repeatedly selected for mission-critical applications due to the inherent benefits of the company's nonvolatile products -- a high degree of tolerance for space radiation, proven reliability at extreme temperatures and live at power-up functionality. In addition, the single-chip devices reduce overall component count, thereby minimizing power consumption and saving board space and weight.
On the MRO, Actel's RTSX-SU devices are accumulating over 85K device hours per month, totalling over half a million device hours of reliable operation since mission launch in 2005. Participating in the orbiter's goal to identify potential landing sites for future missions, the Actel FPGAs are used in several on-board instruments performing complex functions that deliver high- resolution images of the surface, subsurface and atmosphere of Mars.
A total of 56 Actel FPGAs have been used in the Mars Explorer Rover mission alone. Some devices implement critical functions on the Rover Electronics Modules and the Lander Electronics Modules that are currently deployed on the surface of the planet, as well as on the Cruise Modules that were part of the propulsion systems to the planet.
Over the last decade, Actel FPGAs have been on board more than 300 space programs, including GPS, Echostar, International Space Station, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Explorer Rovers 1 and 2, Mars Express and the Hubble Space Telescope.
About Actel
Actel Corporation is the leader in single-chip FPGA solutions. The company is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol ACTL and is headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, Calif., 94043-4655. For more information about Actel, visit www.actel.com. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835).
Source: Actel Corporation
CONTACT: Stephanie Mrus of Actel Corporation, +1-650-318-4614, or
stephanie.mrus@actel.com; or Starlayne Meza of Porter Novelli,
+1-408-369-4600 ext. 629, or starlayne.meza@porternovelli.com, for Actel
Corporation
Web site: www.actel.com/
