Frontgrade Technologies has unveiled the PSM28, a new radiation-hardened SpaceVPX-compliant power supply module designed to support scalable and modular satellite platforms. The release underscores growing industry momentum toward standardization and plug-and-play architectures in spaceborne systems.
PSM28 Overview: A Modular Power Backbone for Next-Gen Satellites
The PSM28 is a 3U VPX power supply module developed in accordance with the VITA 78.1 SpaceVPX standard. It delivers up to 800 watts of output power across four isolated channels and features wide input voltage support (18–50 VDC), making it suitable for a range of low-Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) missions. The module is engineered to operate in harsh space environments with full radiation hardening and fault-tolerant design.
Key specifications include:
- Output Power: Up to 800 W across four isolated outputs
- Input Voltage Range: 18–50 VDC
- Form Factor: 3U VPX per VITA 78.1
- Radiation Hardening: Designed for total ionizing dose (TID) resilience >100 krad(Si)
- Thermal Management: Conduction-cooled design
The PSM28 supports both primary and redundant configurations within a distributed power architecture (DPA), enabling fault tolerance at the system level—a critical requirement for long-duration or mission-critical spacecraft.
SpaceVPX Standardization: Enabling Interoperability in Orbit
The PSM28 aligns with the VITA 78.1 SpaceVPX standard—a subset of the OpenVPX architecture tailored for space applications. Developed by the VITA Standards Organization in collaboration with NASA and industry stakeholders, SpaceVPX defines standardized mechanical, electrical, thermal, and communication interfaces for space-grade electronics modules.
This modular approach allows satellite integrators to mix-and-match components from different vendors while ensuring interoperability and reliability under extreme environmental conditions. The adoption of SpaceVPX is gaining traction among smallsat developers as well as prime contractors building disaggregated or proliferated LEO constellations.
“By adhering to open standards like SpaceVPX,” said Mike Elias, SVP of Product Management at Frontgrade Technologies, “we’re enabling our customers to reduce integration time and risk while increasing mission flexibility.”
Radiation-Hardened Design for Harsh Orbital Environments
The PSM28 is built using Frontgrade’s heritage in radiation-hardened electronics—leveraging decades of experience from its legacy brands including Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions. The module incorporates rad-hard components qualified through MIL-STD-883 methods and tested against total ionizing dose (TID), single event effects (SEE), and latch-up thresholds.
This makes it suitable not only for LEO missions but also for high-radiation environments such as medium Earth orbit (MEO), GEO communications satellites, or deep-space science platforms where commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions would fail prematurely without mitigation.
Toward Plug-and-Play Satellite Architectures
The broader trend toward modularity in satellite design—driven by cost pressures, rapid deployment cycles, and constellation scalability—has created demand for standardized subsystems like the PSM28. By offering a drop-in solution that meets both electrical performance requirements and environmental constraints of orbital missions, Frontgrade positions itself as a key enabler of next-generation spacecraft architectures.
This approach aligns with recent U.S. Department of Defense initiatives such as the Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic & Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) program or DARPA’s Blackjack project—both of which emphasize modular payloads aboard proliferated smallsat buses using open standards like VPX/SpaceVPX.
Commercial Availability and Integration Pathways
The PSM28 is currently available in engineering development units (EDUs) with flight-qualified versions expected later in 2024 pending final qualification testing under NASA/DoD protocols. Frontgrade offers integration support including reference designs for backplane layout per VITA guidelines as well as thermal modeling data packages.
The company also supports custom configurations based on customer-specific output voltage rails or redundancy schemes while maintaining compliance with the underlying VPX mechanical envelope—critical for tight integration into existing bus designs from vendors such as Blue Canyon Technologies or Sierra Nevada Corporation.
Conclusion: A Strategic Step Toward Standardized Satellite Ecosystems
The introduction of the PSM28 marks another step toward interoperable satellite ecosystems where subsystem vendors can plug into common infrastructure without bespoke redesigns or lengthy qualification cycles. As both commercial operators and defense agencies move toward agile space architectures leveraging COTS-inspired standards like SpaceVPX, products like Frontgrade’s new module will play an increasingly central role in enabling resilient orbital capabilities at scale.
