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Operating systems used in spacecraft?



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 15th 03, 07:19 PM
Grem
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

Which operating system/systems are used in spacecrafts? Has FlightLinux
been implemented yet; and if not how far in the testing are they? Any
information on these topics would be greatly appreciated.


  #2  
Old October 21st 03, 09:10 AM
Alex Terrell
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

"Grem" wrote in message ...
Which operating system/systems are used in spacecrafts? Has FlightLinux
been implemented yet; and if not how far in the testing are they? Any
information on these topics would be greatly appreciated.


I hope it's not Windows.

"Sorry, the System has become unstable ...."
"This application is no longer responding. Please reboost..."
"The rocket was not shut down properly. Run scan rocket to check that
there are no errors in the passenger door"
"Fail, Abort, Retry?"
"An unexpected error has occured. The rocket will now crash"
"Launch time error 044303959493343"
  #3  
Old October 21st 03, 02:37 PM
Richard Kaiser
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 11:19:38 -0700, Grem wrote:

Which operating system/systems are used in spacecrafts? Has FlightLinux
been implemented yet; and if not how far in the testing are they? Any
information on these topics would be greatly appreciated.


Since nobody else has replied, here is what I know.

The spacecraft that I worked on ran under VxWorks. The
flight software made extensive use of multiple tasks,
multiple priorities, semephores, and other features
of realtime operating systems.

Remember that satelites are expensive, hand built, and one of
a kind machines that must be very reliable making a change
will need a very strong reason. The flight software is not
rewritten from scratch for each satelite, but is a common
code base that is modified for each satelite. With the fligh
code there is a development suite used for testing, data
logging, debugging, version control, simulation, and more
testing. The tool and runtime license costs for VxWorks
are not significant.

For a new operating system and code base to be used:
1. There must be a strong reason to abandon VxWorks.
(VxWorks's attitude about linux is only thing I
can think about.)
2. The new software must have a proven record in other
applications. (It must fly to be flown.)
3. The new OS must be able to use the existing satelite
code base and tools.
4. The reason for the change must cover the cost of the
learning curve for the new tools.

I would try google on FlightLinux to see if its status is
on the web. It may be hosts on sourceforge.org, look there
too. If FlightLinux does fly it will probable be in an
amature radio or university built satelite.


Richard Kaiser
  #4  
Old October 23rd 03, 09:08 AM
Michael J Wise
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

Richard Kaiser wrote:

I would try google on FlightLinux to see if its status is
on the web. It may be hosts on sourceforge.org, look there
too. If FlightLinux does fly it will probable be in an
amature radio or university built satelite.


http://flightlinux.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Aloha mai Nai`a!
--
"Please have your Internet License http://kapu.net/~mjwise/
and Usenet Registration handy..."

  #5  
Old October 23rd 03, 09:27 PM
PP
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

If you go here you will find some details on computers and language used in
space shuttle and Apollo :-


http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/Hi.../compessay.htm

and

http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~spaceuk/stscpu/stscpu.html

http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~spaceuk/hals/hals.html


--


"Alex Terrell" wrote in message
m...
"Grem" wrote in message

...
Which operating system/systems are used in spacecrafts? Has FlightLinux
been implemented yet; and if not how far in the testing are they? Any
information on these topics would be greatly appreciated.


I hope it's not Windows.

"Sorry, the System has become unstable ...."
"This application is no longer responding. Please reboost..."
"The rocket was not shut down properly. Run scan rocket to check that
there are no errors in the passenger door"
"Fail, Abort, Retry?"
"An unexpected error has occured. The rocket will now crash"
"Launch time error 044303959493343"



  #6  
Old October 23rd 03, 09:31 PM
Greg
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

Richard Kaiser wrote in message . ..
I would try google on FlightLinux to see if its status is
on the web. It may be hosts on sourceforge.org, look there
too. If FlightLinux does fly it will probable be in an
amature radio or university built satelite.


I'm a big fan of open source etc. But even i would be very carful
using it any of these applications. The problem is that too many
people have writen the softwear. Some parts are writen very well, some
are not. As you say, licence fees for these things are petty cash.

This begs the question-- perhaps a little OT. How is flight softwear,
flight tested?
  #7  
Old October 24th 03, 11:19 PM
Henry Spencer
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

In article ,
Greg wrote:
I'm a big fan of open source etc. But even i would be very carful
using it any of these applications. The problem is that too many
people have writen the softwear. Some parts are writen very well, some
are not...


And this is different from closed-source software... how, exactly?

(Well, there is one difference: with closed-source software, you don't
get to *find out* what a mishmash it is inside.)

As you say, licence fees for these things are petty cash.


The problem is not so much the licence fees as the inability to deal with
support deficiencies by doing it yourself in a pinch.

Without naming any names, the MOST team had some bad experiences in that
area on MOST, will *not* use that particular OS again, and next time would
definitely prefer an open-source OS (hardware choice and other constraints
permitting).

This begs the question-- perhaps a little OT. How is flight softwear,
flight tested?


There is obviously a nasty chicken-and-egg problem here, one that is also
found in a lot of spacecraft hardwa if people won't use something that
hasn't flown before, how does anything new get in the door? There are two
possible answers.

One is that the new stuff waits until somebody absolutely cannot fly his
mission without it, and has to grit his teeth and accept the risk of using
something new. (Galileo's camera used a CCD only because JPL's favorite
image tubes were no longer available...) This can take a long time if
the new stuff doesn't offer unique capabilities of some kind.

The other is that it gets to fly either as a secondary payload (so the
primary mission won't be ruined if it malfunctions), or on a spacecraft
that is explicitly experimental. (Deep Space 1's primary mission was to
break the "but it hasn't flown before" logjam for ion propulsion.) The
downside of this is that not every new widget lends itself to being a
secondary payload, and experimental spacecraft are not common.
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |
  #8  
Old October 25th 03, 06:10 AM
Kevin Willoughby
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

In article , gewi001
@phy.auckland.ac.nz says...
This begs the question-- perhaps a little OT. How is flight [software],
flight tested?


Very carefully....
:-)

In ordinary commercial software, the standard estimate is that a
software product spends half of its budget during the testing phase.
Apollo and Shuttle flight software spends 90% of its budget on quality
assurance.
--
Kevin Willoughby oSpam

Imagine that, a FROG ON-OFF switch, hardly the work
for test pilots. -- Mike Collins
  #9  
Old October 27th 03, 12:45 AM
James Summers
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

"Henry Spencer" wrote in message
...
snip
The
downside of this is that not every new widget lends itself to being a
secondary payload, and experimental spacecraft are not common.


Well, in my opinion, this is what NASA's primary mission should be. Not
hauling stuff to a "space station" with a "space truck".
--
James Summers
IBM-ret, "old space guy".
Apollo 201, 202, 203, 204, 1, & 9 RTCC Support. Apollo 13 "back room".
email to: UseNet1 ayt mcsummation dotting com

  #10  
Old October 27th 03, 05:22 PM
Henry Spencer
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Default Operating systems used in spacecraft?

In article ,
James Summers wrote:
downside of this is that not every new widget lends itself to being a
secondary payload, and experimental spacecraft are not common.


Well, in my opinion, this is what NASA's primary mission should be. Not
hauling stuff to a "space station" with a "space truck".


The much-maligned Dan Goldin made some small moves toward fixing this, and
had some success, notably with the New Millennium program (in particular,
Deep Space 1).
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |
 




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