Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) electronics on the International Space Station (ISS)

Abstract

The AMS electronics reads out 300,000 signals from detectors and compress the 7Gbit/s of raw data to 10Mbit/s to meet of the downlink limitation. The system runs on the ISS, in Low Earth Orbit, for the duration of the lifetime of the ISS, ∼20 years. This article describes the system requirements, design and testing processes. It gives details about the two important issues: the radiation and thermal environments on the ISS. It also summarizes the running status of AMS on the ISS over the first 2.5 years.