Friday, March 10, 2017

Microsemi Powers Recent Iridium Satellite Launch

Aliso Viejo-based semiconductor maker Microsemi's chips are being used in the ten Iridium NEXT satellites that were just launched into orbit by SpaceX, according to Microsemi. According to Microsemi, Iridium NEXT is making use of more than 2,000 Microsemi radiation-tolerant field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in its satellite constellation, and over 200,000 Microsemi devices across the entire project. Microsemi also said its commercial FPGAs are also being used by SpaceX, in its launch vehicle. Microsemi says its product catalog includes a significant number of "space-grade" products, including radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant devices, including diodes, rectifiers, zeners, transient voltage suppressors (TVSs) and MOSFETs, in addition to those FPGAs.