Intel 18A Silicon Goes to Space with "Starfire" Processors | TechPowerUp
Monday, July 13th 2026
Intel 18A Silicon Goes to Space with "Starfire" Processors
by AleksandarK
Monday, 17:08
Discuss (19 Comments)
Intel's 18A node is officially space-grade, according to documentation on Intel's website. A document that initially went unnoticed has been published, detailing a new "Starfire" generation of processors built on the 18A node and designed for space operations. Intel has designated two SKUs for orbital computing, each equipped with four P-Cores and four LPE-Cores, resulting in an eight-core SoC design. One is optimized for low-power operations with clocks adjusted for efficiency, while the other is designed for performance. The Low Power edition tunes its four P-Cores to 1.0 GHz, while the four LPE-Cores run at 850 MHz. For the Performance version, Intel has increased the frequency of P-Cores to 3.1 GHz, with LPE-Cores reaching up to 2.1 GHz.
Both SKUs feature a GPU tile built on the Intel 3 node, which includes 4 Xe cores with 64 EUs. On the Low Power SKU, these Xe cores operate between 800 MHz and 1.0 GHz, while the Performance SKU boosts this to 2.0 GHz. The total package for the Low Power version remains at 10 W TDP, while the Performance SKU is capped at 35 W TDP. Additionally, Intel includes an NPU on both versions, with a compute capability of 45 TOPS on the Low Power version and up to 75 TOPS on the Performance SKU using INT8 precision. Beyond specifications, "Starfire" can operate within a T-Junction range from -55°C to 125°C. This range, alongside TID, SEL, and SEE radiation hardening certifications, introduces the first 18A silicon to space, ideal for orbital computation. Intel targets this quarter, Q3, for samples.<br>For those unaware, space computing requires additional radiation hardening for processors before they are deployed. Space is an unpredictable environment full of ionizing radiation that can penetrate CPUs, causing sudden bit-flips, which jeopardize data integrity and computation accuracy. Therefore, every silicon chip destined for space must undergo radiation hardening to prevent degradation from long-term radiation exposure and protect against short-term high-energy particles impacting the CPU.
Sources:<br>Intel, via x86deadandback on X
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Add your own comment<br>19 Comments on Intel 18A Silicon Goes to Space with "Starfire" Processors
#1
plain old XE cores or XE3?
#2
kondaminplain old XE cores or XE3?<br>It's 18A which means Panther Lake which means Xe3.
#3
ECC memory support, by any chance?
#4
WirkoECC memory support, by any chance?<br>If it is made for space applications, I would assume that it would exclusively be paired with ECC memory.
#5
dgianstefaniIt's 18A which means Panther Lake which means Xe3.<br>The gpu tile is on intel 3, and with 64 EU's you would be pretty much the same size as the 12 core part
#6
kondaminThe gpu tile is on intel 3, and with 64 EU's you would be pretty much the same size as the 12 core part<br>No I understand the GPU tile is on a different process, but since the only 18A product is Panther Lake, there's very little chance they, for some reason, forward ported an older GPU architecture alongside the CPU.
#7
Good luck with that. It's not exactly a distant memory when their 13th and 14th gen CPUs died like flies from degradation (Vmin Shift super-debacle). I wouldn't want to be an astronaut on an Intel-powered space capsule. Hopefully, they'll use Intel only for unmanned missions (very cheap ones, too, and not something valuable like the launch of a space telescope).
#8
RogueSixGood luck with that. It's not exactly a distant memory when their 13th and 14th gen CPUs died like flies from degradation (Vmin Shift super-debacle). I wouldn't want to be an astronaut on an Intel-powered space capsule. Hopefully, they'll use Intel only for unmanned missions (very cheap ones, too, and not something...