News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Ask HN: Why did stack-based CPUs lose out? by naikrovek on Sunday January 01, 2023 @07:39PM (#34212848)
i guarantee the people building the spacecraft and choosing the CPUs have thought about this more than you, and have much more knowledge about the problem space than anyone here questioning their decision-making processes.

if it was a good idea to have multiple redundant CPUs on these spacecraft, the spacecraft would have multiple redundant CPUs.

Re:Ask HN: Why did stack-based CPUs lose out? by shagie on Sunday January 01, 2023 @10:19PM (#34213847)
I will note that they do have multiple, redundant CPUs... they just aren't all active at once.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/mars_2020/landing/m...

> Just like Curiosity, Perseverance has two main computers, or “brains”: One is active at any given time, while the other serves as a backup. Both use radiation-hardened RAD750 computers, and together, they’re referred to as Rover Compute Element A and B.

> Another RAD750 serves as a third “brain,” on Perseverance. Called the Vision Compute Element, it is equipped with a special card for analyzing images. This card has a Virtex-5 field programmable gate array (FPGA) and is the driving force behind Terrain-Relative Navigation and the Lander Vision System, which analyzes images of the landing site during descent and compares them to an onboard map to determine the rover’s position relative to the ground.

That "Virtex-5 FPGA" is an interesting one too...

https://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon-devices/fpga/virtex-...

Where it is listed as "Space-grade Virtex-5QV FPGA"

Re:Ask HN: Why did stack-based CPUs lose out? by incrudible on Monday January 02, 2023 @09:25PM (#34226764)
I said I do not buy the power argument and I received two high quality comments explaining issues beyond power consumption. Your appeal to authority adds nothing of value.