Radiation Tolerance or Total Immunity?

For decades, designing electronics for space meant choosing between two extremes. Engineers could use radiation-hardened components that would survive high radiation exposure, although they would be more costly and slower to produce. Or they could rely on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics that delivered higher performance but little protection once they left Earth.

That clear divide is fading. Advances in design, testing, and manufacturing have changed the meaning of radiation and temperature resistance. Engineers now have more ways to balance performance, reliability, and cost efficiency without compromising mission goals or safety. The result is a new generation of radiation-tolerant by design – or RTbD – components that deliver the right level of built-in protection for the environment they’re built for.

From Hardening to Tolerance

Radiation hardening has always been the benchmark for reliability. These components are designed to withstand the cumulative effects of ionizing radiation and single-particle strikes that can cause logic errors, latch-ups, or long-term degradation. Their performance is proven, and government and commercial customers alike are willing to pay for it, from oil and gas exploration to military and defense. The stakes are high, after all.

As mission demands expand from orbit to ocean, from geospatial observation to unmanned terrestrial systems, engineers face new priorities. Low-Earth-orbit constellations, CubeSats, and tactical defense platforms operate on tighter budgets and faster production cycles, driving the need for components that are reliable, scalable, and economical. Similar pressures exist in autonomous vehicles, marine exploration, and defense communications, where systems must handle radiation and thermal stress without the cost or lead times of complete hardening.

For these use cases, radiation-tolerant devices strike the right balance, delivering protection from typical environmental exposure while maintaining the agility and scalability needed for shorter missions or faster production timelines.

Matching to Mission Demands

Radiation tolerance is not a one-size-fits-all measure. The right level depends on where and how the system operates. Spacecraft and deep-space probes require full hardening to ensure continuous operation through years of exposure.

By contrast, low orbit satellites, autonomous vehicles, and surface-based defense systems can perform reliably with components designed for tolerance rather than total immunity – as in radiation-hardened by design or RHbD.

The growing distinction around radiation tolerance centers on “how” to make microcontrollers, microprocessors, and other electronics radiation-tolerant enough not to fail. The issue hinges on both consistency and cost-effectiveness. For example, the number of satellites is projected to jump from 14,000 today to as many as 100,000 by 2030. This massive increase demands a foundational shift toward reliable radiation- and temperature-protected electronics, but many missions are still relying on a riskier alternative: COTS Upscreening.

• Upscreening: This involves taking COTS chips and rigorously testing them to determine their potential survivability in a radiation environment. This method is an inconsistent, costly, and unreliable process for satellite applications, particularly with the growing density of low-Earth orbit.

• Radiation-Tolerant by Design: With VORAGO chips, radiation tolerance is engineered into the product from the ground up. This approach eliminates the need for risky upscreening or implementing complex triple redundancy schemes for LEO, MEO, and GEO missions. Robust, military-grade components guarantee reliable operation across a wide thermal range, from -55C to +125C (a 374F operational temperature swing), where standard components risk failure and rapid lifetime degradation.

This shift is transforming how engineers approach reliability. Rather than defaulting to the highest level of hardening, they can now choose components that align with each mission’s unique risk, cost, and timeline. This model expands accessibility to the right radiation- and heat-resistant chips for the job – across the industry.

A Complete Portfolio of Resistance and Reliability

VORAGO’s high-reliability, radiation- and temperature-resistant portfolio spans the full design spectrum, from Radiation Hardened by Design (RHbD) to the increasingly prevalent Radiation Tolerant by Design (RTbD). This flexibility ensures customers can meet mission requirements across diverse, demanding environments—including orbit, deep space, undersea, downhole energy exploration, and on-terrain unmanned vehicles, as well as specialized commercial applications like medical or security imaging—without unnecessary redesign or delay.

This shift is transforming how engineers approach reliability. Rather than defaulting to the highest level of hardening, they can now choose components that align precisely with each mission’s unique risk, cost, and timeline. This new model marks a new dawn of well-defined RTbD, where customers can finally expect consistent performance affordably. Adaptability and reliability—demanded by both the government and the private sector—help engineers across defense, aerospace, new energy exploration, and global satellite networks push performance further, faster, and more efficiently than ever before.