I was always told it had to do with how long it took to get things approved. I remember when it was a big deal that the space shuttles were upgraded to 486s… in 2002.
Comment on I'm sure it'll be fine!
Jomega@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Doesn’t NASA use older tech because it’s more secure? I think I remember reading that somewhere.
FrChazzz@lemmus.org 2 months ago
lime@feddit.nu 2 months ago
it’s also because the smaller a transistor is, the more sensitive it is to cosmic rays. and there are a lot more cosmic rays in space than on earth. you can “rad-harden” them, but there are physical limits. as a result the most popular cpu architecture in space is the RAD750, based on the PowerPC 750. the perseverance rover and the james webb space telescope are basically underclocked gamecubes.
mech@feddit.org 2 months ago
Yes, they used to use Debian Oldoldstable on Thinkpads in the ISS. Don’t know if they still do.