Radiation-hardened ICs & transistors support Philae lander

Since departing on its 6bn km journey over 10 years ago, the space satellite Rosetta finally reached Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko and has successfully placed a probe called Philae on the comet to obtain images from its surface and analyse its content. This is the first operation of its kind in the history of space exploration and the valuable information Philae has relayed back to Earth is set to enable dramatic steps forward in understanding how the universe was formed.

Rosetta and Philae's excellent adventure started in March 2004 when Ariane 5 lifted off carrying Rosetta, the first space vehicle designed to fly alongside a comet on its journey into the heart of the Solar System. Rosetta launched Philae to the surface of the comet on November 12 after being awakened in January from 31 months in sleep mode. After bouncing several times upon landing, Philae was sent careening across the surface into a shadowed, uneven, and as-yet-unknown location where it was unable to receive enough sunlight to keep power.

During the next phase of the mission, Rosetta will accompany the comet through its closest approach to the Sun in August 2015. Although Philae is currently in a low-power hibernation mode, it is possible that it will end up receiving enough sunlight to recharge its batteries and awaken as Comet 67P approaches the sun during the first half of 2015. In fact, its partially-shadowed position could even help it avoid overheating during perihelion, ultimately prolonging Philae’s operating life.

In participating in the Rosetta/Philae project, ST delivered four device types including more than 4000 radiation-hardened logic ICs and more than 6500 rad-hard transistors to the Central Parts Procurement Agency. All devices were qualified by the European Space Agency to the European quality system.

"With a track record of providing high reliability components to key space exploration programmes since 1977, ST's products continue to prove their durability and reliability over hundreds of millions of flying hours," said Nunzio Martelli, Group Vice President, Industrial & Power Discrete Group, STMicroelectronics. "The technical success of Rosetta and Philae arriving alongside Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko is, at least in part, further proof of the durability and reliability of ST's products."

Image provided courtesy of the European Space Agency at http://sci.esa.int/rosetta/.