Skip to main content
Intellect

Shuttle launches BYU student-designed circuit into space

  • Graduate students designed a specialized circuit that launched with Endeavour.
  • The circuit is part of a chip that can be reprogrammed remotely.
  • The chips will be tested to see how they hold up against harsh space conditions. 

When the shuttle Endeavour launched  Monday morning there was a little bit of BYU on board. A BYU research team designed a highly specialized type of circuit that could improve the reliability of current NASA technology.

The launch attracted extra attention because it’s the second-to-last shuttle mission, and it is commanded by the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Congresswoman wounded in a shooting earlier this year.

Michael Wirthlin led the team that designed the circuit inside a chip known as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Such chips are unique because they can be programmed remotely.  This prevents time-consuming space walks where astronauts would have to work on hardware devices. All of the necessary work can be done from NASA command center on Earth.

“It is a really unique opportunity for our students to design a circuit that can go up in space,” said Wirthlin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “Those students will now evaluate the effectiveness of their circuit. It is very rare to participate in this whole process.”

Current graduate student William Howes was one of those students.

“It was definitely a great opportunity and something that not too many students have the chance to do,” Howes said. “To be able to tell others that there’s something in space that I designed is amazing. It has helped me a lot in searching for jobs and in my graduate degree.”

FPGAs have been used in space before. For example, the Mars Rover had older versions on board. The FPGAs that BYU is researching are much more powerful. They will be on the Endeavor for long-term data collection to see how they react to harsh space conditions.

“For FPGAs, radiation is a problem,” Howes said. “If the FPGA gets hit in the wrong way, it could make the computation come out incorrect.”

BYU’s team hopes to make the FPGAs radiation-tolerant. If the experiments are successful, the techniques created by BYU students could show how the FPGAs can be used safely and reliably.

Writer: Matt Hopkins

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

BYU team using wearable nanocomposite sensor and AI to create prescription-like system for chronic back pain

May 24, 2023
To find effective therapies for chronic low back pain, and to help curb opioid addiction, the NIH created the Back Pain Consortium Research Program. BYU is one of 10 major universities (along with Harvard, Ohio State and the University of Utah) tapped to help with this effort, and new work from researchers here has led to a system to prescribe patient-specific back pain remedies like doctors would prescribe medication.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Motivated by a love of God and His children, BYU student helps others find belonging

May 18, 2023
Devoted BYU student Josie Zenger combines her passion for research and community, helping to create a sense of belonging for all students.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU grad programs shine in 2023-2024 edition of U.S. News rankings

May 16, 2023
Once again, BYU graduate programs shined in the newly released annual U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings, with the J. Reuben Clark Law School earning its highest ranking to date.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=