Pluggable Socketed Processor Module B (PSPM B)

PSPM B is a pluggable socketed processor module (PSPM) for use with the CubeSat-compatible Development Board (DB). By adding a PSPM B to a DB, a user creates a CubeSat-compatible command-and-data-handling (C&DH) module built around Silicon Labs’ 8-bit C8051F120 low-power microcontroller (MCU). PSPM B holds the C8051F120 in a 100-pin ZIF (zero insertion force) socket, providing 128KB of internal Flash memory and 8,848B of internal RAM, and can run at speeds up to 100MHz. It also includes an on-board, external 128KB static RAM used as XRAM.

A fully tested PSPM B unit is supplied with a Silicon Labs C8051F120 MCU already installed in its ZIF socket. PSPM B is part of Pumpkin’s CubeSat Kit development hardware line and plugs into a Development Board (DB); it is used to create and debug C8051-based software and/or hardware for a CubeSat Kit. Because the processor is socketed (PSPM) rather than soldered on (as in the flight PPM), a mistake made during development (e.g., accidentally shorting two digital outputs) can be recovered from with a simple, inexpensive ($10 or less) processor replacement rather than discarding the whole board. PSPM B is electrically identical to the flight module PPM B1, so software developed and run on PSPM B in a development environment runs identically on PPM B1 in a flight environment.

PSPM B is compatible with the Development Board (DB), the Silicon Labs C8051F120, and the Silicon Labs USB Debug Adapter, and it is included in the CubeSat Kit /C8051 (which bundles PSPM B and PPM B1) as well as in the CubeSat Kit Upgrade to C8051. Purchasing restrictions apply: prospective customers must first purchase an entire C8051-based CubeSat Kit before this component can be ordered separately (“a la carte”), since supplemental information such as schematics and the required software are provided only with a full CubeSat Kit purchase.