Mercury Introduces the First Space-qualified FPGA Processing Board Powered by AMD Xilinx Versal® Technology

ANDOVER, Mass., Sept. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY, www.mrcy.com), a technology company that delivers processing power for the most demanding aerospace and defense missions, today introduced the first space-qualified FPGA processing board to use AMD’s Xilinx Versal® AI core. The SCFE6933 is a radiation-tolerant, 6U SpaceVPX board that will make high-performance computing more accessible for a broad range of space applications and customers.

Mercury’s SCFE6933 allows data to be processed on orbit faster, more efficiently, and more reliably. Optimized for size, weight, and power, the SCFE6933 performs in a single board what previously required three boards, simplifying mission architectures, and reducing costs. The Versal AI core drives heterogeneous processing efficiencies never before available as an off-the-shelf product for space systems, allowing more data to be processed in less time. It is also software-defined, bringing the ability to dynamically add application-specific IP and customize its functions in orbit, extending spacecraft utility as mission objectives evolve over time.

Mercury’s first customer for the SCFE6933 is Ball Aerospace, with whom the product is being co-developed. Mercury will make lab development models available to commercial customers this year with flight units available in 2024.

Mercury has a strong legacy in space, having delivered more than 20,000 space-qualified devices with no in-flight failures and solutions used on more than 65 satellite and launch vehicle programs. Our space systems and components are purpose-built for harsh, radiation-intense environments:

Cockpit displays allow commercial space vehicle crews to operate safely
Solid-state data recorders leverage the VPX form factor for agile interoperability and accelerated system design
Memory modules enable sophisticated in-space applications and manage exploding volumes of data
RF components including filters, amplifiers, and ferrites support high-performance, high-reliability space missions

Why It Matters
The demand for advanced data processing in orbit has never been greater—from keeping satellite costs low by using software-defined satellite architectures, to minimizing latency for rapid response to emerging threats, to having the ability to pre-process sensor data and downlink only mission-relevant information. Mercury’s unique position at the intersection of high-tech and defense allows it to serve as the semiconductor industry’s partner of choice to supply COTS and modified COTS processing hardware and a trusted partner to aerospace and defense customers that want to leverage the latest commercial technologies in their space architectures.

“For more than 40 years, Mercury has designed and manufactured hardware compliant to space quality standards, and we understand the challenges of mission power, computing, and storage at the edge,” said Roger Wells, EVP and President of Mercury’s Microelectronics division. “The demand for advanced processing power in space has never been greater, and the SCFE6933 will enable a new generation of space missions to turn data into real-time decisions.”

Mercury’s SCFE6933, an AI-ready FPGA board designed for high-performance processing in space

6U SpaceVPX board built with Versal ACAP
Radiation tolerant for use in space
Designed to the SpaceVPX open standard that allows for rapid technology insertion, interoperability, and reuse
Performance improvements of up to 20x over today’s fastest FPGA implementations
Performance improvements up to 100x over today’s fastest CPU implementations
Utilizes Mercury’s space-qualified DDR memory with electronic code correction, which can detect, correct, monitor, and reduce data corruption for increased data reliability

For more information, visit mrcy.com or contact Mercury at info@mrcy.com.

Mercury Systems – Innovation that matters® by and for people who matter
Mercury Systems is a technology company that pushes processing power to the tactical edge, making the latest commercial technologies profoundly more accessible for today’s most challenging aerospace and defense missions. From silicon to system scale, Mercury enables customers to accelerate innovation and turn data into decision superiority. Mercury is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, and has 24 locations worldwide. To learn more, visit mrcy.com. (Nasdaq: MRCY)