Configurable and Autonomous Sensor Processing Research (CASPR) is designed to enable effective onboard processing for next-generation sensors and applications. CASPR is a Department of Defense payload on the Space Test Program - Houston 7 (STP-H7) pallet aboard the International Space Station. It was developed, designed, and built by the students and faculty of the NSF Center for Space, High-performance, and Resilient Computing at the University of Pittsburgh. Explore below to learn more about this exciting research testbed.
Command Logs
Hybrid Space Computer
Designed by SHREC students, CSP is one of the first computers containing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and radiation-hardened components to provide a radiation-tolerant yet powerful computing for space. CSP employs a Xilinx Zynq-7020 system-on-chip containing an Artix-7 FPGA fabric and a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor.
Boards available for purchase from Space Micro Inc. via their licensing from SHREC, or IP available to all SHREC members.
Next-Gen Hybrid Space Computer
Designed as a successor to the CSP, the SHREC Space Processor (SSP) provides the same hybrid-computing concept with more FPGA acceleration power. SSP employs a Zynq-7045 system-on-chip with a Kintex-7 FPGA fabric and a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, supporting the addition of multi-gigabit transcevers and dedicated programmable-logic DDR memory.
Boards available for purchase from Space Micro Inc. via their licensing from SHREC, or IP available to all SHREC members.
Multispectral, High-Resolution, Low-GRD Imagery
Designed and built by SHREC member Satlantis, based in Bilbao, Spain, the iSIM-90 can achieve a ground-sampled distance of <2.0 m from an altitude of 500 km. The sensors cover the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral range.
For more information, visit the Satlantis website.
Neuromorphic, Event-Based Vision
Designed and built by Prophesee, based in Paris, France, the neuromorphic sensor is an asynchronous event-based vision sensor modelled after the human eye. The sensor’s biomimetic model ignores any redundant, static background information in its field of view, passing only moving events measured by luminosity changes. This method of capture provides a very high dynamic range (>120 dB) and a low temporal resolution (on the order of microseconds).
For more information, visit the Prophesee website.
Timeline
August 2018
Original Design
Proposed the original design of CASPR
October 2019
Preliminary Design Review
Showcased mission goals and development progress
April 2020
Critical Design Review
Finished up the design
November 2020
Field Configuration Audit
Ensured system meets all specifications
February 2021
Flight Unit Assembly
Prepared the flight unit at our Pitt lab
Early March 2021
Environmental Testing
Performed thermal and vibration testing
Late March 2021
On-Dock Integration
Delivered CASPR to NASA Johnson Space Center
September 2021
Software Upload
Updated the software with new apps
December 2021
Launched aboard SpaceX CRS-24
January 2022
Installed as part of the STP-H7 pallet on the outside of the Columbus module
January 2022
Initial Commanding of CASPR
Sent the first commands from our lab at Pitt
The Department-of-Defense’s Space Test Program oversees the STP-H7 pallet which hosts CASPR.
The Naval Research Laboratory provided access to their environmental testing equipment and donated components.
The NASA Goddard branch helped with designing the electronics.
Texas Instruments donated power components used on CASPR.