The RTX2010, manufactured by

Intersil Intersil is an American semiconductor company headquartered in Milpitas, California. As of February 24, 2017, Intersil is a subsidiary of Renesas. The previous Intersil was formed in August 1999 through the acquisition of the semiconductor busin ...

, is a

radiation hardened Radiation hardening is the process of making electronic components and circuits resistant to damage or malfunction caused by high levels of ionizing radiation (particle radiation and high-energy electromagnetic radiation), especially for environm ...

stack machine In computer science, computer engineering and programming language implementations, a stack machine is a computer processor or a virtual machine in which the primary interaction is moving short-lived temporary values to and from a push down st ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

which has been used in numerous

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

Characteristics

It is a two-stack machine, each stack 256 words deep, that supports direct execution of

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

. Subroutine calls and returns only take one processor cycle and it also has a very low and consistent

interrupt latency In computing, interrupt latency refers to the delay between the start of an Interrupt Request (IRQ) and the start of the respective Interrupt Service Routine (ISR). For many operating systems, devices are serviced as soon as the device's interrup ...

of only four processor cycles, which lends it well to realtime applications.

History

In 1983, Chuck Moore implemented a processor for his programming language

as a gate array. As Forth can be considered a dual stack virtual machine, he made the processor, Novix N4000, as a dual-stack

machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

. In 1988, an improved processor was sold to

Harris Semiconductor Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and space ...

, who marketed it for space applications as the RTX2000.

Example spacecraft that use the RTX2010

Advanced Composition Explorer Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE or Explorer 71) is a NASA Explorer program satellite and space exploration mission to study matter comprising energetic particles from the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, and other sources. Real-tim ...

(ACE) *

NEAR NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a former ...

/Shoemaker *

TIMED timed (time daemon) is an operating system program that maintains the system time in synchronization with time servers using the Time Synchronization Protocol (TSP) developed by Riccardo Gusella and Stefano Zatti. Gusella and Zatti had done ea ...

* Rosetta's lander -

Philae ; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ , alternate_name = , image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg , alt = , caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nasse ...

External links

* Intersil's product page. * * * * {{refend Avionics computers Radiation-hardened microprocessors Stack machines