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United Kingdom / United States · Radiation-tolerant processor research

APEX ARM space-processor research

This project focuses on radiation-tolerant processor research.


ARM-led APEX researched radiation-tolerant processors for future space instruments during 2014–2016, with NASA JPL collaboration. CORDIS reports a Zynq/Cortex-A9 spectroscopy-controller prototype and a separate triple-lockstep Cortex-R5 subsystem. Laboratory and simulation results do not establish an operating orbital platform or flight-qualified commercial processor.

ARM Limited / NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory · Completed research, no flight deployment established

Scope: Enabling research · Named enabling processor research without a defined shared orbital service platform.

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Electrical power
About 5 WDemonstratedGround APEX-SoC CIRIS controller electrical consumption
Evidence & scope

Controller boundary only. Does not establish IT-only processor load, complete instrument power or spacecraft demand. Date is the report's last update, not the laboratory test date.

As of

Primary source ↗
Other specifications
Up to 762 Mb/sDemonstratedGround APEX-SoC CIRIS spectroscopy controller, up to 100 photodetectors
Evidence & scope

Application data-processing rate reported in the final summary, not arithmetic throughput or a communications link. Date is the report's last update, not a flight or test date.

As of

Primary source ↗

Figures retain their disclosed units and scope. Launched hardware does not establish demonstrated performance; targets may change. Not disclosed means no figure in the reviewed sources.

PROJECT RELATIONSHIPS

Suppliers & project partners

European Space Agency (ESA)

Research participant

Program organization: ARM Limited

Partnership
ARM University Programme and ESA developing a prototypic CubeSat solution using APEX technology

CORDIS's March 2017 account describes prototype development. It does not identify a flown CubeSat, delivered operational fleet or procurement contract.

Announced Publication date not supplied · Evidence checked 4 Nov 2026

CORDIS APEX research results (opens in a new tab)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Research participant

Program organization: ARM Limited

Partnership
NASA JPL collaboration on requirements, CIRIS instrument controller and fault-tolerant computing research

Historical research collaboration. No spacecraft procurement, commercial supply contract, award-signature date or flight installation is established.

Announced Publication date not supplied · Evidence checked 4 Nov 2026

APEX final report summary (opens in a new tab)

Xilinx

Supplier

Program organization: ARM Limited

Supplier selected
Named Xilinx Zynq SoC and 7-series FPGA fabric used for the APEX-SoC CIRIS laboratory controller

Component identity in a research prototype, not evidence of a direct procurement contract, special radiation-qualified product or an installed flight configuration.

Announced Publication date not supplied · Evidence checked 4 Nov 2026

CORDIS APEX research results (opens in a new tab)
NEXT MILESTONE

No current mission commitment established. Revisit on a dated flight, qualification or commercial-implementation disclosure.

Manual review 4 Nov 2026. Compared CORDIS grant and research results. Separated Zynq/Cortex-A9 and Cortex-R5 configurations, memory protection, laboratory data rate and controller power. Relative board-efficiency claims remain held references. No flight qualification is established. Primary body last observed not available. Source monitoring: unavailable. Source collection and substantive profile review are separate checks. Plans and dates may change.

European Commission CORDIS grant and final report (opens in a new tab)
WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN
  • Subsequent spacecraft installation and flight qualification
  • Absolute arithmetic throughput and precision
  • RAM/storage capacities and complete spacecraft power
  • Numerical thermal limits, spacecraft mass, orbit and mission duration

Project updates

Verified announcements and milestones linked to this project, newest first.

APEX explored radiation-tolerant ARM processors for future space missions (opens in a new tab)

CORDIS describes the ARM-led APEX research project, completed in 2016 with NASA JPL collaboration. Its results include a spectroscopy-controller prototype and a separate fault-tolerant Cortex-R5 subsystem assessed in laboratory and simulation work. The agency records USD 221,347 (EUR196456.20) in EU support. March 3, 2017 is the results article’s displayed revision date.