Data collection technology kick into action onboard Juno spacecraft

Microsemi has extended its congratulations to NASA for the Juno spacecraft’s successful mission to date, including its orbit insertion at Jupiter, as its mission turns towards the data collection phase. After an almost five-year journey to the solar system's largest planet, the spacecraft successfully entered Jupiter's orbit. A wide variety of Microsemi’s radiation-tolerant products were used in mission critical applications during Juno’s launch and journey across the solar system, and continue to support the historic mission in the hostile, intense radiation environment around Jupiter. Over the next few months, Juno's mission and science teams will complete the transition to the final 14-day science orbit and initiate formal collection of scientific data. Microsemi’s radiation-tolerant field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) from the RTSX-SU and RTAX-S product families are in use within the space vehicle’s command and control systems, and in various instruments which have now been deployed and are returning scientific data. Microsemi’s high- and low-voltage radiation-hardened power supply modules support guidance and controls systems on board the Juno spacecraft. In addition, a broad range of Microsemi’s portfolio of high-reliability discrete diode and transistor technologies are used in many of the mission critical avionics and platform functions. “We are honored yet again to support NASA’s mission as we leverage Microsemi’s nearly 60 years of experience providing high-reliability semiconductor solutions for groundbreaking U.S. space programs,” said James J. Peterson, chairman and CEO, Microsemi. “This demonstrates the high quality of our radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened products, as well as our commitment to our space customers who depend on our expertise to complete their missions even in the most hostile and inhospitable environments.” Microsemi has been providing its innovative space solutions for a variety of U.S. space programs dating back to the launch of the first Atlas rocket in 1957. The company continues to develop new products and technology for future missions as part of its broad portfolio of radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant products, expanding its ability to cater to the needs of a growing spacecraft market.