Loft Federal wins NASA task order for fault tolerant RISC V flight computer

Written by Copernical Team Wednesday, 03 September 2025 00:49

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 03, 2025

Loft Orbital Federal has secured a NASA Flight Opportunities task order to integrate, launch, and operate an on-orbit mission supporting the Fault Tolerant RISC-V Flight Computer with Coprocessor Support, known as RadPC. The award leverages the agency's commercial flight and payload integration pipeline for rapid technology maturation. The work falls under NASA's fourth Flight Opportunitie

Loft Federal wins NASA task order for fault tolerant RISC V flight computer
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 03, 2025

Loft Orbital Federal has secured a NASA Flight Opportunities task order to integrate, launch, and operate an on-orbit mission supporting the Fault Tolerant RISC-V Flight Computer with Coprocessor Support, known as RadPC. The award leverages the agency's commercial flight and payload integration pipeline for rapid technology maturation.

The work falls under NASA's fourth Flight Opportunities IDIQ, a five-year vehicle valued at up to $45 million. As a named recipient, Loft Federal will provide end-to-end services spanning payload accommodation, licensing, satellite integration, launch campaign management, and on-orbit operations for multiple technology demonstration payloads.

The new task order enables a hosted-orbital flight test of a next-generation fault-tolerant RISC-V computer with coprocessor support. Developed with multi-year NASA funding and led by Montana State University and startup Resilient Computing, the architecture uses advanced FPGA technologies and RISC-V to deliver high-performance, radiation-tolerant processing for deep space missions.

Engineers designed the system for resilience, emphasizing self-healing behaviors that maintain performance and recover from single-event upsets in the harsh space environment. The demonstration targets robust onboard computing that can manage dynamic computational loads while safeguarding mission continuity well beyond low Earth orbit.

"With this award, Loft Federal reaffirms its role as a trusted partner for government agencies seeking rapid, reliable, and risk-mitigated access to space for critical technology demonstrations," said Mark Mueller, Director of Business Development at Loft Federal. "We are proud to support NASA's pioneering efforts in advancing fault-tolerant, high-performance computing solutions that are foundational for the next era of scientific discovery and exploration."

Loft Federal will execute a fully managed campaign, streamlining payload engineering, satellite integration, regulatory compliance, launch, and long-term operations. The model allows NASA-backed research teams to concentrate on technology development while the company manages mission execution and access to orbit.