The command and data handling system – a radiation-hardened 12-megahertz Mongoose V processor guided by intricate flight software – is the spacecraft's "brain." The processor distributes operating commands to each subsystem, collects and processes instrument data, and sequences information sent back to Earth. It also runs the advanced "autonomy" algorithms that allow the spacecraft to check the status of each system and, if necessary, correct any problems, switch to backup systems or contact operators on Earth for help.
Guidance and Control
New Horizons must be oriented in a particular direction to collect data with its scientific instruments, communicate with Earth, or maneuver through space. Attitude determination – knowing which direction New Horizons is facing – is performed using star-tracking cameras, Inertial Measurement Units (containing sophisticated gyroscopes and accelerometers that measure rotation and horizontal/vertical motion), and digital solar sensors. Attitude control for the spacecraft – whether in a steady, three-axis pointing mode or in a spin-stabilized mode – is accomplished using thrusters.
The IMUs and star trackers provide constant positional information to the spacecraft's Guidance and Control processor, which like the command and data handling processor is a 12-MHz Mongoose V. New Horizons carries two copies at each of these units for redundancy.
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[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 12.5 ms ] threadCommand and Data Handling
The command and data handling system – a radiation-hardened 12-megahertz Mongoose V processor guided by intricate flight software – is the spacecraft's "brain." The processor distributes operating commands to each subsystem, collects and processes instrument data, and sequences information sent back to Earth. It also runs the advanced "autonomy" algorithms that allow the spacecraft to check the status of each system and, if necessary, correct any problems, switch to backup systems or contact operators on Earth for help.
Guidance and Control
New Horizons must be oriented in a particular direction to collect data with its scientific instruments, communicate with Earth, or maneuver through space. Attitude determination – knowing which direction New Horizons is facing – is performed using star-tracking cameras, Inertial Measurement Units (containing sophisticated gyroscopes and accelerometers that measure rotation and horizontal/vertical motion), and digital solar sensors. Attitude control for the spacecraft – whether in a steady, three-axis pointing mode or in a spin-stabilized mode – is accomplished using thrusters.
The IMUs and star trackers provide constant positional information to the spacecraft's Guidance and Control processor, which like the command and data handling processor is a 12-MHz Mongoose V. New Horizons carries two copies at each of these units for redundancy.
[1] http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/139889main_PressKit12_05.pdf
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Detailed specifications for the Mongoose-V MIPS R3000 Rad-Hard Processor:
http://synova.com/proc/mg5.html