Avalanche Technology, the leader in next-generation MRAM technology, today reaffirmed its position as the only provider of true Space Grade non-volatile memory.
FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Avalanche Technology, the leader in next-generation MRAM technology, today reaffirmed its position as the only provider of true Space Grade non-volatile memory. Within a single device, Avalanche's Space Grade Ava-MRAM uniquely satisfies all five non-negotiable criteria required for space missions: Survive, Retain, Endure, Commit, and Prove.
For mission designers operating in unforgiving conditions of space, memory hardware should not limit the life or capabilities of a space mission. Traditional memory technologies force system designers into complex tradeoffs: radiation mitigations, endurance budgets, power-hungry backups, and non-deterministic data commits. These add size and weight, consume power (SWaP), and increase mission risk. Avalanche's Space Grade Ava-MRAM addresses every criterion in a single device.
A memory technology must meet five objective criteria at the same time to qualify as true Space Grade technology:
- Survive radiation without disruption
- Retain data for the life of a mission
- Endure unlimited writes
- Commit data instantly
- Prove real space heritage
In space systems, a technology that survives radiation but loses data, wears out over time, delays data commitment, or lacks flight heritage is not Space Grade. Partial compliance leads to failure. Avalanche Space Grade Ava-MRAM uniquely delivers on all five criteria simultaneously, through radiation immunity, permanent data retention, unlimited endurance, deterministic nanosecond writes, and proven flight heritage without tradeoffs.
Space Grade: The Foundation of the Satellite Industry's Most Secure Root of Trust
Every satellite mission depends on the spacecraft booting into a known, trusted configuration. The fundamental question is: can the spacecraft be trusted to boot into the exact configuration its operators intended, every time, regardless of what radiation has done to it? That question defines the root of trust, and it is answered not in software but in the memory holding the satellite's golden image.
Today that memory is often the weakest link. Boot code, bitstreams, cryptographic keys, and golden images are fragmented across flash, EEPROM, and battery-backed SRAM. Each additional device is another attack surface, another single event upset risk, and another point where a bit flip, wear-out failure, or non-deterministic write can silently corrupt the data a satellite needs to boot securely and operate as intended.
Space Grade Ava-MRAM consolidates these functions into a single, physics-defined foundation, and each criterion closes a specific door to failure.
Survive. Because the pMTJ cell stores data as magnetic resistance rather than electric charge, Ava-MRAM is immune to the single event upsets that flip bits in flash and the latch-ups that force destructive power cycles in SRAM and DRAM. On-die triple modular redundancy and radiation-tolerant power delivery extend that immunity to the whole device, delivering an SEU threshold more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of flash and an SEL threshold roughly double that of DRAM or SRAM at temperatures where satellites operate (65°C).
Retain. Rated for 10 years of retention at 125°C, with projected retention of roughly one million years at 65°C, Ava-MRAM ensures the golden image qualified before launch remains intact through the end of the mission, with no battery backup, scheduled re-flash, or periodic scrubbing.
Endure. With 10¹⁶ write cycles, comparable to SRAM and DRAM, Ava-MRAM allows mission systems to rotate keys, patch boot code, and maintain provenance logs without managing a practical wear limit.
Commit. Every byte-level write commits deterministically in nanoseconds, without an erase-before-write step or flash translation layer. As a result, a radiation event or power anomaly is less likely to leave a key rotation or boot-image update in an unknown state.
Prove. A continuing record of flight deployments lets mission architects treat Ava-MRAM not as a promising specification sheet but as a foundation already demonstrated in the environment that matters.
Together, these properties eliminate the need for redundant devices, voting schemes across separate memories, and software-layer error correction. Avalanche's family of Space Grade Ava-MRAM devices, offered across a range of densities, lets mission designers size the root of trust to the platform while consolidating the golden image, boot code, and cryptographic material in one memory technology rather than scattering them across dissimilar parts. The result is a root of trust operators can verify, audit, and defend.
"Our purpose is to enable customers to build trustworthy platforms with our products, and every trustworthy platform begins with its root of trust," said Paul Chopelas, General Manager, Aerospace and Defense at Avalanche Technology. "Every satellite operator wants to say their spacecraft cannot be compromised at the most fundamental level, but that claim is only as good as the memory holding the root of trust. Space Grade Ava-MRAM was built to be that foundation: a single device that survives the complete mission."
Frontgrade offers Avalanche-based MRAM as part of its space memory portfolio, adding Frontgrade qualification, screening and radiation assurance for demanding applications.
"Frontgrade brings more than 40 years of space heritage to helping customers select and qualify electronics for missions where reliability is critical," said David Meyouhas, President, Microelectronics at Frontgrade Technologies. "By combining Avalanche MRAM with Frontgrade qualification, screening, and radiation assurance, we provide a proven option for demanding space applications. Its non-volatility, high write endurance, and fast access make it particularly well suited for boot, configuration, code storage, and data logging."
Avalanche further examines the five Space Grade criteria — Survive, Retain, Endure, Commit, and Prove — in its white paper Space Grade Defined.
About Avalanche Technology
Avalanche Technology, Inc. is the leader in true Space Grade non-volatile memory, delivering STT-MRAM solutions designed to meet all the essential criteria required for space missions. Building on its perpendicular STT-MRAM platform, offered at 40 nm and 22 nm with scalability beyond 14 nm, and an intellectual property portfolio of more than 300 patents and applications, Avalanche supplies radiation-immune boot and storage Ava-MRAM memory solutions to the aerospace and defense industrial base in Space Grade, Space Grade-E, Space Grade-R, PEMS, and QML qualification tiers. With this same platform and patent portfolio, Avalanche also supplies Ava-Storage products in M.2, U.2, and 3U and 6U SpaceVPX form factors qualified using procedures from MIL-STD-461G RS105 and MIL-STD-810G. Avalanche is enabling the Orbital Internet: a scalable unified memory architecture for satellites, orbital data centers, and exploration platforms from Very Low Earth Orbit to Mars.
For more information, visit us online at avalanche-technology.com. More Avalanche perspectives include:
- AI Computing in Space – white paper
- Data Centers in Space – white paper
- Why Ava-MRAM Has a Clear Advantage in Aerospace & Defense Applications – white paper
Media Contact
Maureen Bradford, Avalanche Technology, 1 833-689-3133, [email protected], https://www.avalanche-technology.com/
SOURCE Avalanche Technology
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