Microchip’s Radiation-Tolerant CAN FD Transceiver Aims at the Next Generation of Spacecraft

Communication inside a spacecraft is never simple. Each board, sensor, and thruster needs to send data across a shared bus that has to keep working even when radiation levels spike. To handle that challenge, Microchip has introduced the ATA6571RT, a CAN FD transceiver designed from the start for space conditions.

Faster Links for On-board Systems

Conventional CAN lines run at about 1 Mbps, which was fine when satellites carried a handful of controllers. Modern designs often have dozens. The ATA6571RT pushes that limit to 5 Mbps and allows payloads up to 64 bytes per frame. In practical terms, engineers can move more information through the same wiring, which means faster responses between propulsion, guidance, and payload electronics.

Because it remains compatible with classic CAN, it can drop straight into existing spacecraft networks. The device includes its own CRC error checking and internal protection against over-temperature and short-circuit faults, giving engineers a little more safety margin when physical access isn’t possible.

Built for Radiation Exposure

Radiation is the enemy of electronics in orbit. Charged particles can flip data bits or damage a chip permanently. The ATA6571RT has been qualified for both Single-Event Effects (SEE) and Total Ionizing Dose (TID) tolerance, so it keeps working on long-duration missions. Engineers can start development with Microchip’s commercial transceivers and then switch to the RT version later, since both share the same pin layout.

The part also includes local and remote wake-up modes, useful for systems that need to conserve energy during standby or eclipse periods.

A Fit for Smaller, Smarter Spacecraft

Today’s satellites are lighter and more modular, with multiple subsystems packed onto compact boards. The ATA6571RT helps make that possible by offering higher bandwidth, built-in protection, and low-power operation in a small footprint. It’s suited to robotic mechanisms, propulsion control, data-handling units, and nanosatellite buses that need dependable communication without extra hardware.

Microchip’s broader space-qualified lineup already includes radiation-tolerant Ethernet, SpaceWire, and MIL-STD-1553 interfaces. The addition of a CAN FD option rounds out that range and gives system designers another way to build fault-tolerant communication into future spacecraft.

Learn more and read the original article on www.microchip.com