A next-generation space-grade solid state drive engineered for LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO and deep-space missions, now adopted by leading space-qualified system manufacturers.
Foremay’s InterStellar™ radiation-hardened SSD has been purpose-built to withstand the extreme demands of orbital and deep-space environments. Designed for both military and commercial programmes, this next-generation drive delivers an exceptionally long operational life in the harshest radiation conditions — and it is already in use with leading space-qualified system manufacturers worldwide.
“The InterStellar™ is not simply a storage device, it is a digital ark for the next century of space exploration,” said Dr Jack Winters, Chief Technology Officer at Foremay. “By combining physical interception, chemical neutron capture and AI-driven self-healing, we are providing the space and defence industries with a standard-sized, space-grade SSD solution capable of surviving the journey to the stars.”
Engineered to Endure Where Others Fail
Electronics in space and military applications face a three-fold threat: Total Ionising Dose (TID), Single Event Effects (SEE) and Internal Electrostatic Discharge (IESD). Standard industrial SSDs frequently fail within months of orbital exposure. Foremay’s InterStellar™ takes a fundamentally different approach, employing a Graded-Z shielding architecture that draws on the company’s patent-pending and proprietary technologies.
This multi-layered design effectively slows incoming protons and captures secondary neutrons, reducing a raw 10,000 krad exposure down to a manageable 500 krad threshold. The result is sustained hardware integrity across the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and beyond. The shielding also provides robust protection against the high-energy “killer electrons” found in the outer Van Allen belts, together with secondary Bremsstrahlung radiation.
Beyond these defences, the architecture significantly raises both the TID test rating and the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) threshold, enabling the drive to resist and tolerate the extreme radiation generated by Solar Particle Events (SPE) and Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) in outer space and deep-space environments. This positions the InterStellar™ as the premier choice for SEE-immune storage at the frontier of exploration.
Intelligent Self Healing Through IABM™ Technology
The InterStellar™ goes beyond physical shielding with Foremay’s Interstellar AI-Driven Block Management (IABM™), bringing AI at the edge to space-based storage. This advanced firmware harnesses machine learning to generate a real-time “Radiation Risk Map,” continuously monitoring Bit Error Rate (BER) alongside predictive sensor data. When high-energy heavy ions strike, the drive proactively migrates mission-critical data away from affected zones before errors can propagate.
Working in concert with a radiation-hardened electronics controller and Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR), the InterStellar™ maintains full Single Event Latch-up (SEL) immunity, delivering a level of SEE mitigation that has not previously been available in the SSD industry.
Key Technical Specifications
Form Factors: 2.5″ SATA · U.2 (ruggedised 2.5″ NVMe for aerospace) · 1.8″ SATA · BGA NAND DOC (Disk-on-Chip) · M.2 2230 · M.2 2242 · M.2 2260 · M.2 2280 (space-grade NVMe for CubeSats and SmallSats) · 3U VPX. All designed for seamless integration with existing payloads.
Radiation Tolerance: Up to 500 krad (Si) TID; LET threshold up to 100 MeV·cm²/mg.
Data Integrity: 10⁻¹⁹ UBER after 50 years of simulated interstellar flight.
Thermal Management: Specialist space-grade thermal protocols ensuring reliable operation from −55 °C to +125 °C.
Security: Advanced encryption with rapid-purge and physical-destruct options for military and defence applications.
About Foremay
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2002, Foremay, Inc. is a specialist designer and manufacturer of military grade and space-grade solid state drives for the defence, military and space sectors. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, Foremay continues to push the boundaries of extreme environment rugged SSD storage.