From sovereign supply chains to cutting‑edge radiation‑hardened chips, Europe’s NG‑ULTRA FPGA by NanoXplore and STMicroelectronics aims to boost autonomy in orbit.
NanoXplore and STMicroelectronics have announced the qualification of NG‑ULTRA, a radiation-hardened system-on-chip (SoC) FPGA, for space applications under the new European ESCC 9030 standard.
This marks the first product certified to the standard, which is designed for high-performance micro‑circuits in advanced packaging. It offers reliability while reducing dependence on traditional ceramic solutions.
According to the companies, the NG‑ULTRA device, developed for low‑ and medium‑earth orbit constellations, will be deployed in major European satellite programmes, including Galileo and Copernicus.
The FPGA addresses evolving requirements in satellite constellations by combining higher computational power with controlled energy consumption and reduced costs. Its SoC architecture integrates quad‑core Arm Cortex R52 processors with programmable hardware, offering 537k LUTs and 32 Mb RAM.
This design reduces board complexity, system mass and power usage, while enabling adaptive hardware reconfiguration in orbit.
NG‑ULTRA is built on ST’s 28nm FD‑SOI platform, providing resilience against radiation with tolerance up to 50 krad (Si) and immunity to single‑event effects. It supports functions including onboard computing, data routing, image processing, software-defined radio and autonomous operations.
Édouard Lepape, Chief Executive Officer of NanoXplore, described the qualification as “a historic step,” adding that it demonstrates Europe’s ability to master the full production chain for advanced digital components and to secure strategic autonomy in space technology.
Thomas Goust, Division General Manager at STMicroelectronics, highlighted the importance of a sovereign supply chain, noting that ST’s expertise in FD‑SOI technology, radiation hardening, manufacturing and packaging has enabled NG‑ULTRA’s entry into the New Space market.
Manufacturing, assembly and testing are being conducted entirely within Europe, with facilities in France and Italy, reinforcing the EU’s ambition to secure a sustainable supply chain for long‑duration missions.
