Python / cFS Integration for Safe On-Board Processing

This IRAD will add support for the Python programming language into NASA's core Flight System (cFS). The Python application will be able to use cFS services and applications while maintaining memory isolation and respecting scheduling. This allows users to take advantage of Python's extensive libraries and dynamic attributes without impacting cFS functionality.

Integrating Python into cFS allows scientists to easily reuse their existing Python code on-board a spacecraft instead of converting it to C (cFS's native language). This makes it easier to develop robust on-board data processing applications, which has been identified in NASA's Technology Roadmaps TA 8 and TA 11 as enabling for several goals including reducing the telemetry requirements for instruments.
The project also allows better code isolation from the between the science application and the rest of the flight software. For example, code for communicating with an instrument that may have be implemented in C and executed within cFS's memory space can instead be written in Python and isolated from cFS's memory. This prevents bugs in the instruments code from impacting the rest of cFS.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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