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[nampad]

Some people seem to be salty about this, lol.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Some people seem to be salty about this, lol.

Space salt is a delicacy on some planets.

 

[NolbertoS]

Didn't know rhere were alot of comp science geeks on GAF, my faith in humanity is confirmed and GAF isn't just about games . I can only imagine the day mankind flys into space, it'll be powered by the PS6, Xbox three or Nintendo Galaxtic System console

Edit: yes, I knoe there non-existant consoles, but the tech chip is getting smaller and more powerful per year.

 

[Concept17]

Why didn't they use the 360 one?

 

[Stinkles]

Why didn't they use Oreida, or McCains, which would survive both low temperature and isolation?

 

[DeepEnigma]

Why didn't they use Oreida, or McCains, which would survive both low temperature and isolation?

They went with the non GMO option.

 

[Radec]

Why didn't they use the 360 one?

Because the 360 isn't even available yet when they made New Horizons.

 

[c0de]

Why didn't they use the 360 one?

So many useful answers already in this thread.

 

[trephine]

Well now i know why my psp clocks too 333 mhz,has the r3000 chip cool to know

 

[Kevyt]

This is the first thing that came to mind when reading OP:

Surprised no one posted that image before. It would be awesome if someone could photoshop a PS1 into this image

 

[MrCunningham]

People are actually mad over this news? That is hilarious.

Fuckers at NASA should have used twin SH2's.


But really, the PS1 CPU is probably a good combination of low power consumption and flexibility.

 

[Steiner84]

does that mean psx sales are now officially stellar?

 

[RiverBed]

This is the first thing that came to mind when reading OP:



Surprised no one posted that image before. It would be awesome if someone could photoshop a PS1 into this image

How about this:

 

[sn0man]

Don't be silly, they chose it because PS1 can push 1.5m polygons per second and you're all just butthurt.

Also "...$299"

 

[DeepEnigma]

Why didn't they use the 360 one?

This is got to be a joke post.

 

[HTupolev]

Yeah, science gadgets are ridiculously overpriced.

Designing a chip and setting up a silicon run is extraordinarily costly even for basic logic devices with no special requirements, and rad-hardened microprocessors suitable for prolonged space missions are about as low-demand as it gets. A couple tens of thousands per unit doesn't really seem unreasonable to me.

 

[disappeared]

Why didn't they use the 360 one?

NASA didn't want the damned thing red-ringing before it even left earth's orbit.

 

[Ashler]

How about this:

That's pretty good!

 

[Bubba_Sparks]

I imagine that the electronics for this spacecraft would have to hardened against radiation. You couldn't just take an Intel processor and slap it inside the spacecraft. Power saving would be absolutely essential to the success of the mission as it has to survive in space for years. So I bet they use custom ICs designed within rigorous power limitations. Hence the old PlayStation processor.

 

[DBT85]

Amazing to see people online saying NASA picked the wrong processor lol.

 

[Koren]

I imagine that the electronics for this spacecraft would have to hardened against radiation.

The Mangoose (the CPU inside the spacecraft) is indeed radiation-hardened.

The R3000 happens to be used in the original Playstation, but it's first and foremost a CPU used in many early-90 devices (the CPU itself is half a dozen years older than Playstation).

Saying that "it runs with the Playstation CPU" is the same as saying anything that use a Z80 "it runs with the Gameboy CPU". Yes, that's true, but it's mostly a coincidence.

 

[Koren]

Amazing to see people online saying NASA picked the wrong processor lol.

They probably picked an available solution that was working and they "enjoyed" to use... That's a way to define "the best solution".

That's not to say researchers always go for the "best" solution... I've seen far to much researchers using Fortran 77 and even reluctant to use the 90 version just because they're at ease with the older compiler. Why change if it's working? I'm actually fine with that as long as I don't have to work with them too much on their code (code that still inherits margins from perforated cards really feel dated).

They had processors that had been redesigned for space issues, thoroughly checked and tested in space condition, why look for something else, especially when you don't need much power? Mangoose V, RAD6000 and 386 fit the job perfectly...

 

[Mihos]

The Mangoose (the CPU inside the spacecraft) is indeed radiation-hardened.

The R3000 happens to be used in the original Playstation, but it's first and foremost a CPU used in many early-90 devices (the CPU itself is half a dozen years older than Playstation).

Saying that "it runs with the Playstation CPU" is the same as saying anything that use a Z80 "it runs with the Gameboy CPU". Yes, that's true, but it's mostly a coincidence.

I started my engineering career on a z80 ... that chip is still going strong, just like me

 

[New002]

Nice, maybe they'll use the cell processor next to power an.unmanned reconnaissance vehicle to land on other worlds.

Unleash Cell on a foreign planet? Has DBZ taught us nothing!?

 

[PdotMichael]

They probably picked an available solution that was working and they "enjoyed" to use... That's a way to define "the best solution".

That's not to say researchers always go for the "best" solution... I've seen far to much researchers using Fortran 77 and even reluctant to use the 90 version just because they're at ease with the older compiler. Why change if it's working? I'm actually fine with that as long as I don't have to work with them too much on their code (code that still inherits margins from perforated cards really feel dated).

They had processors that had been redesigned for space issues, thoroughly checked and tested in space condition, why look for something else, especially when you don't need much power? Mangoose V, RAD6000 and 386 fit the job perfectly...

In the engineering field is good enough and cheap the best solution, yo.

 

[Mihos]

In the engineering field is good enough and cheap the best solution, yo.

you forgot 'can be executed and qualified within the projected time line'. I honestly couldn't imagine the effort needed to get my custom embedded system qualified on an i5 for a space applications. That shit would take years. I wouldn't think they would even attempt to harden a chip manufactured in 22nm. I would want my junctions the size of a midgets fist and downclocked to about 20 Mhz for some of those radiation levels.

 

[Theonik]

Smaller lithographies are pretty susceptible to ionising radiation, which isn't really a problem for terrestrial use but for space application it's quite big. That's also a big reason why they would choose an older processor on an old node.

 

[dr.rocktopus]

How can it accurately navigate without a Z-buffer?

Any other CPU that have a Z-buffer would become self aware under its long and dangerous journey and would eventually malfunction because of performance anxiety and stress.

The PSX CPU's blatant disregard of the Z-plane is the reason it can courageously travel all these years with no fear or remorse.

that hack Cerny could only wish his console powers rocketships

Fun fact, voyager was a modified nes and the reason its been able to operate so long is the cartridge slot was left open, allowing for space dust to continually blow into the compartment to ensure normal operation.

does that mean psx sales are now officially stellar?

Unleash Cell on a foreign planet? Has DBZ taught us nothing!?

slayed

In the engineering field is good enough and cheap the best solution, yo.

This guy gets it

 

[televator]

does that mean psx sales are now officially stellar?

Yup. I guess we can say the PS1 just flew past Saturn.

 

[Felspawn]

Yeah I think NASA scientists are more qualified to make that judgement.

agreed, thank you

 

[PdotMichael]

If it doesn't include converting from imperial to metric units, they are indeed pretty good.

 

[entremet]

That's pretty neat.