A Fault-Tolerant Information Processing Concept for Space Vehicles

A distributed fault-tolerant information processing system is proposed, comprising a central multiprocessor, dedicated local processors, and multiplexed input–output buses connecting them together. The processors in the multiprocessor are duplicated for error detection, which is felt to be less expensive than using coded redundancy of comparable effectiveness. Error recovery is made possible by a triplicated scratchpad memory in each processor. The main multiprocessor memory uses replicated memory for error detection and correction. Local processors use any of three conventional redundancy techniques: voting, duplex pairs with backup, and duplex pairs in independent subsystems.