From ground to orbit: a robust and efficient test methodology for RISC-V soft-cores

As traditional space-grade computing systems struggle to meet the increasing computational demands of modern space missions, RISC-V emerges as a promising alternative due to its open-source and highly customizable nature. However, the extensive hardware customization options in RISC-V introduce complexity in validation, making it challenging to ensure system reliability. This paper introduces a robust methodology for validating RISC-V-based systems under accelerated radiation beams, focusing on test uptime, leveraging Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) FPGA devices, which offer flexibility and cost-effectiveness, to enable concurrent hardware and software development. We demonstrate how our methodology offers a comprehensive approach for testing heterogeneous systems on FPGAs, balancing thorough integration with cost-efficiency and test robustness. During our experiments with accelerated neutrons to assess the resilience of RISC-V cores, our approach guaranteed the correct delivery of 100% of the packages, while minimizing system downtime during radiation testing by reducing the Test Fixture SEFI cross-section.