System architecture for Byzantine resilient computation in launch vehicle applications

Abstract

A system architecture for fault-tolerant computation is presented that meets or exceeds projected unmanned and manned launch vehicle requirements. The system architecture discussed is under development at Harris Corporation on the Advanced Fault-Tolerant Data Processor (AFTDP) project. The AFTDP addresses both long-life missions where resource preservation is critical and shorter-life ultra-reliable missions relevant to launch vehicle applications. A distributed computation model is used to achieve robust fault tolerance based on a Byzantine fault model. The AFTDP employs a high-performance shared-memory multiprocessing model of computation for application programs, which is based on a 20 million instruction per second RISC (reduced-instruction-set computer) processor.<>