SiFive, a startup developing IP based on the RISC-V architecture, said NASA has selected it to supply the core CPU for the agency’s next high-performance spaceflight processor, a big win for the emerging instruction set.
While SiFive will supply RISC-V CPU cores for the program, the space agency inked U.S.-based Microchip Technology to a $50 million contract to create the full high-performance spaceflight computer (HPSC). The chip is being designed for high-profile missions, including spacecraft for planetary exploration and future manned missions to the Moon and Mars. Microchip said that it will take three years to finish the work.