Payload-XL: A Platform for the In-Orbit Validation of the BRAVE FPGA

Design and verification techniques targeting the space environment are widely used to explore the reliability levels of embedded systems for Cubesats. Considering that, we carried out a study to select and to adapt a design flow to be used as a guide for the development of Cubesats. The chosen design and development flow was used in a case study of a board, called Payload-XL, conceived to be the computing module of a Cubesat. The primary purpose of Payload-XL is to validate the big reprogrammable array for versatile environments (BRAVE) FPGA from Nanoxplore, in orbit. Research and development activities were carried out to integrate the GOMX-5 mission through a partnership between the Federal University of Santa Catarina, the European Space Agency, Cobham Gaisler, GMV, CBK, and GomSpace. The results demonstrate that Payload-XL innovates as a validation platform for the BRAVE FPGA and also brings mechanisms to reconfigure it remotely in orbit. Furthermore, the results show that Payload-XL complies with the power, size, and requirements of the GOMX-5 mission.