

NASA's New Horizons Space Probe: Powered by PlayStation - Arjuna
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/197612-nasas-new-horizons-space-probe-powered-by-playstation

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Arjuna
Here's some further information [1]:

Command and Data Handling

The command and data handling system – a radiation-hardened _12-megahertz
Mongoose V processor_ guided by intricate flight software – is the
spacecraft's "brain." The processor distributes operating commands to each
subsystem, collects and processes instrument data, and sequences information
sent back to Earth. It also runs the advanced "autonomy" algorithms that allow
the spacecraft to check the status of each system and, if necessary, correct
any problems, switch to backup systems or contact operators on Earth for help.

Guidance and Control

New Horizons must be oriented in a particular direction to collect data with
its scientific instruments, communicate with Earth, or maneuver through space.
Attitude determination – knowing which direction New Horizons is facing – is
performed using star-tracking cameras, Inertial Measurement Units (containing
sophisticated gyroscopes and accelerometers that measure rotation and
horizontal/vertical motion), and digital solar sensors. Attitude control for
the spacecraft – whether in a steady, three-axis pointing mode or in a spin-
stabilized mode – is accomplished using thrusters.

The IMUs and star trackers provide constant positional information to the
spacecraft's Guidance and Control processor, which like the command and data
handling processor is a _12-MHz Mongoose V_. New Horizons carries two copies
at each of these units for redundancy.

[1]
[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/139889main_PressKit12_05.pdf](http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/139889main_PressKit12_05.pdf)

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Detailed specifications for the Mongoose-V MIPS R3000 Rad-Hard Processor:

[http://synova.com/proc/mg5.html](http://synova.com/proc/mg5.html)

