DY 4 CPU board helps launch Japanese rocket
Designers at Mitsubishi Precision Co. in Japan needed a single-board VME computer for an integrated digital navigational system in Japan`s M-5 rocket that was able to withstand the extreme shock and vibration of a rocket launch. They found their solution in the DMV-160 board based on the Motorola 68040 microprocessor from DY 4 Systems in Kanata, Ontario.
A DMV-160 single board computer from DY 4 was the main navigation processor in an M-5, which launched from Japan`s Kagoshima Space Center Feb. 12 and delivered the 2-ton MUSES-B satellite into low-Earth orbit.
DY 4 engineers delivered an integrated subsystem consisting of a conduction cooled DMV-160 computer to Mitsubishi that was housed in a single-slot "clamshell" chassis called the DMV-960. DY 4 specialists tested the clamshell and board to ensure its ability to withstand twice the shock and vibration levels expected at launch while monitoring internal functionality and communicating with external surfaces, including the VME and VSB buses, company officials say.
Mitsubishi designers are planning to upgrade the M-5 navigation processor to take advantage of more-recent computer enhancements, and have chosen the DMV-162 from DY 4 as a replacement. The DMV-162 has a 33 MHz 68040 micro- processor and as much as 8 megabytes of SRAM on a single board. - J.K.
For more information, contact DY 4 Marketing Director Duncan Young by phone at 613-599-9199, ext. 298, by fax at 613-599-7777, by e-mail at dyoung@ dy4.com, by mail at 333 Palladium Dr., M/S 252, Kanata, Ontario, K2V 1A6, or on the World Wide Web at www.dy4.com/.
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