Desktop Computer System Processes Satellite Data

The Desktop Satellite Data Processor (DSDP) is a prototype computer system for processing telemetry data received from, and command data to be transmitted to, a spacecraft in orbit around the Earth (see figure). The design of the system utilizes very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), parallel computer architectures, and pipelined data processing. Advanced software and a high level of integration of hardware and software components are expected to make a fully developed version of the system fit into a desktop-sized package at relatively low cost; the fully developed system is expected to be less than one-fourth as large as an equally capable system made entirely from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components.