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Completed TRL 7 (started at 3, targeting 9)
Develop a flexible, modular and user friendly SpaceCube Core Software system that will dramatically simplify SpaceCube application development and enable any SpaceCube application to run on any SpaceCube platform, under any operating system
Free Spacecube application developers from the embedded system details and enable them to work at a higher level, focused solely on their application Task Includes: Define standard software/hardware interfaces and register sets Begin developing generic driver packages to abstract the various SpaceCube hardware platforms from the operating systems Adapt the CFE "O/S abstraction layer" to SpaceCube Linux, capture real-time performance metrics and implement dual PowerPC inter-communication via CFE protocols Collaborators: GSFC Flight Software Branch
SpaceCube is a mission-enabling, cross-cutting technology that can support Earth, Space and Planetary Science, robotic servicing, and exploration applications. By marrying commercial radiation-tolerant FPGAs with special upset mitigation techniques SpaceCube delivers reliable on-orbit performance with “order of magnitude” improvements in processing power when compared to traditional flight processors, and has demonstrated 99.99% operational uptime in space.
SpaceCube’s processing power enables missions to autonomously detect and react to events, produce data products on-board for applications such as direct downlink, quick look, and “first responder” real-time awareness, enable “sensor web” multiplatform collaboration, and perform onboard “lossless” data reduction by migrating typical ground-based processing functions on-board, reducing on-board storage and downlink bandwidth requirements.
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This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.
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