Montana State University — Bozeman¶
SST footprint: 1 project (GSFC-led, Montana State implemented) | TechPort footprint: 5 projects across 2 programs (SST, FO) | Outcome: flew → commercialized (Resilient Computing spinout) | Federal funding (Resilient Computing): $2.78M across 6 awards (NASA + DoD/SOCOM)
Last updated: 2026-04-14 (session 19)
The Story¶
Montana State University's Brock LaMeres built one of the SST portfolio's most complete technology maturation arcs: a radiation-tolerant computer system that went from SST-funded lab work (2013) to ISS deployment (2018), company spinout (2020), NASA SBIR pipeline, and lunar surface operation (March 2025). This is the first SST-connected university technology confirmed operating on the Moon.
SST Project¶
RadSat — Radiation Tolerant FPGA SmallSat Computer 91661¶
- Period: 2013-10-01 to 2016-04-30
- TRL: 5 → 6 (target 6)
- Lead org: Goddard Space Flight Center (Montana State as implementing university)
- PI: Brock LaMeres
- TX: TX02.1.1 Radiation-Hardened Extreme-Environment Components
- Description: COTS FPGAs with single-event-effect mitigation strategy for reliable, high-performance space computing at a fraction of radiation-hardened processor costs. The key insight: modern COTS FPGAs have acceptable total ionizing dose immunity due to thinning gate oxides — the remaining challenge is single-event effects, which can be handled in software.
Full TechPort Footprint (Brock LaMeres)¶
| Project | Program | Period | TRL | Role | Lead Org | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91661 RadSat FPGA computer | SST | 2013–2016 | 5→6 | PI | GSFC | Completed |
| 91411 FPGA rad-tolerant computer testing | FO | 2013–2017 | 5→7 | PI | Montana State | Completed |
| 106595 SEE random number encryption | FO | 2018–2020 | 4→6 | PI | Montana State | Completed |
| 106701 RadPC@scale suborbital | FO | 2020–2023 | 6→7 | PI | Montana State | Completed |
| 184144 RadPC+Coprocessor RISC-V | FO | 2025–2028 | — | Co-I | Resilient Computing | Active |
Key observation: SST and the first FO project ran concurrently (2013). SST funded the core computer architecture maturation (GSFC-led); FO funded the flight testing pathway (Montana State-led). The parallel funding model worked — SST provided the technology push while FO provided the validation pull.
Outcome chain on [91411]: TechPort records "Advanced To | 2014-08-01" — the FO project advanced the technology that SST was simultaneously maturing.
Downstream: RadSat Flight Heritage¶
RadSat-g (3U CubeSat)¶
- Launch: ISS resupply OA-9, March 2018
- ISS deploy: July 2018
- Mission: Collected radiation data on FPGA single-event-effect mitigation in LEO
- Status: Successful demonstration
RadSat-u¶
- Launch: ISS resupply NG-12, November 2019
- ISS deploy: February 2020
- Mission: Second-generation RadPC testing, continued LEO data collection
- Status: Successful, orbited collecting data
Confidence: confirmed (NASA ISS manifest, ESA RadSat page, Montana State press)
Downstream: Resilient Computing (Company Spinout)¶
Founded: 2020 by Brock LaMeres Licensed: RadPC technology from Montana State University, 2021 Location: Bozeman, Montana LaMeres role: President
Federal Awards (USASpending)¶
| Award ID | Amount | Agency | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC21C0074 | $131.5K | NASA | 2021-05 to 2021-11 | SBIR Phase I: Fault-tolerant computing reconfigurable HW/SW |
| 80NSSC22PB173 | $156.5K | NASA | 2022-07 to 2023-01 | SBIR Phase I |
| H9240522P0011 | $150.0K | DoD/SOCOM | 2022-08 to 2023-02 | STTR Phase I: Open call S&T innovation |
| 80NSSC23PB559 | $156.5K | NASA | 2023-08 to 2024-02 | SBIR Phase I: Real-time HW configurable coprocessors |
| 80NSSC23CA147 | $1.29M | NASA | 2023-06 to 2027-03 | RISC-V flight computer with coprocessor (= TechPort [184144]) |
| 80NSSC24CA100 | $900.0K | NASA | 2024-06 to 2026-06 | SBIR Phase II: Real-time HW configurable coprocessors |
Total federal funding to Resilient Computing: $2.78M across 6 awards (5 NASA, 1 DoD/SOCOM)
Also won NASA Entrepreneur's Challenge prize ($90K).
Confidence: confirmed (USASpending, SBIR.gov firm page, Montana State press, NASA Entrepreneur's Challenge announcement)
Downstream: RadPC on the Moon¶
Mission: Blue Ghost 1 (Firefly Aerospace), CLPS program Landing site: Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) Landing date: March 2025 RadPC status: Met mission objectives. Operated through the Van Allen belt radiation environment (most severe radiation exposure of the entire mission), continued operating through solar eclipse, sunset, and into lunar night. Longest-duration instrument operation of all 10 Blue Ghost payloads.
This makes RadPC the first SST-connected university technology confirmed operating on the lunar surface.
Confidence: confirmed (NASA CLPS press release, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, NASASpaceflight.com Blue Ghost coverage)
The 12-Year Arc¶
2013 SST [91661] + FO [91411] — parallel funding: SST matures core tech, FO validates
2016 SST complete (TRL 5→6)
2017 FO complete (TRL 5→7)
2018 RadSat-g deployed from ISS (July) — first orbital demo
FO [106595] SEE random numbers (creative side-application of radiation effects)
2019 RadSat-u deployed from ISS (Nov → Feb 2020)
2020 Resilient Computing founded
FO [106701] RadPC@scale suborbital demo (TRL 6→7)
2021 RadPC technology licensed from Montana State
NASA SBIR Phase I ($131.5K)
2022 NASA SBIR Phase I ($156.5K) + DoD/SOCOM STTR Phase I ($150K)
2023 NASA SBIR Phase I coprocessors ($156.5K) + FO Phase II RISC-V ($1.29M)
2024 NASA SBIR Phase II coprocessors ($900K)
2025 RadPC lands on the Moon (Blue Ghost 1, CLPS, March 2025)
FO [184144] RadPC+Coprocessor — Resilient Computing now lead org, LaMeres Co-I
SST's role in the arc: SST provided the initial seed funding for the core FPGA fault-tolerance architecture. Without SST, the RadSat computer system would not have had the technology maturation pathway that led to flight readiness. FO then validated the technology across 4 successive missions (ISS × 2, suborbital, coprocessor development). The SST→FO pipeline worked exactly as designed.
People & Connections¶
- Brock LaMeres — PI on all 5 TechPort projects. MSU professor → company founder. 25+ years building computer systems.
- Todd J Kaiser — Co-I on FO [91411]. MSU colleague.
- Chris Major — PI on FO [184144] (Resilient Computing lead). Likely LaMeres' company hire/partner.
- GSFC connection: SST project [91661] was GSFC-led. GSFC provided the NASA center partnership for the university-led technology.
NTRS Publications¶
No NTRS results found under "LaMeres, Brock" — publications likely appear under Montana State University technical reports or IEEE conference proceedings rather than NTRS. The RadSat-g and RadSat-u missions would have generated mission data reports through ISS channels.
Cross-References¶
- Autonomy, GN&C, and Onboard Computing — RadPC fits the edge computing thread
- Goddard Space Flight Center — SST project [91661] led by GSFC
- University & Academic Outcomes — strongest university-to-company pipeline in SST
- Archetype: SST→FO pipeline (confirmed, same as Alexeenko FEMTA but with commercial exit)
- Archetype: University spinout (Resilient Computing is 2nd university SST spinout after CISGAM, but first with revenue-generating federal contracts)
Assessment¶
Montana State's RadPC arc is the strongest university-to-commercialization pathway in the SST portfolio: - SST seed (2013) → 2× ISS flights → company spinout (2020) → $2.78M federal contracts → lunar surface operation (2025) - Brock LaMeres is one of only two university PIs to successfully spin out a company from SST-connected work (the other being Gamero-Castaño's CISGAM at UC Irvine) - Unlike CISGAM (pre-revenue, early stage), Resilient Computing has $2.78M in federal contracts and a product on the Moon - The SST→FO parallel funding model deserves attention: concurrent SST (tech maturation) and FO (flight validation) accelerated the pipeline - EPSCoR state context: Montana has minimal aerospace industry heritage. SST + FO investment helped build a space computing company in Bozeman.
Note on classification: The SST project [91661] was technically GSFC-led with Montana State as the implementing partner. The downstream commercial success flows through LaMeres/Montana State, not GSFC. This is a case where the leadOrg field understates the university's actual contribution.