www.brightascension.com
development tooling workflowdevelopment toolingGenerationOne
FSDK tooling is built on a variety of standard, cross-platform,
technologies and can be readily adapted to suit different
processes. Graphical tooling integrates with the Eclipse
environment, whilst the complete build system is fully accessible
from the command line and can be easily automated.
test support toolingSupport for development and integration
testing is provided in the form of graphical and command line tools
which can communicate with flight software, acting as 'ground'. The
graphical TMTC Lab operates using the software model and permits
all space-ground interactions to be tested with ease.
modular communicationsThe GenerationOne FSDK permits modular
communications stacks to be constructed from components. Interfaces
between components follow a standard pattern based on services.
This approach allows individual layers of the stack to be modified
or substituted without impacting layers above and below. By
replacing the lowest communications layers, interfaces or links can
be emulated for testing.
CXML
CXML
HTML
BinaryXML C
Define Component
Type
Implement Component
TypeGenerate Skeleton Define
Deployment
Configure Component Instances
Deploy onto Target
Generate Build
Component LibraryGenerateLibrary
DocumentationSCDB HTML
GenerateSpacecraft Database
flight software development kit
platform abstraction and services
The Bright Ascension Flight Software Development Kit (FSDK) is a
unique, innovative development environment which permits the
creation of mission-specific spacecraft flight software using
configurable, off-the-shelf software components. Building on our
industry-leading GenerationOne model-based technology, our FSDK
allows the rapid development of reliable flight software by
combining bespoke, or tailored, software components with library
components which have been previously validated, many in flight.
The GenerationOne FSDK comprises three major parts:
rapid and portable developmentThe extensive component library of
the GenerationOne FSDK, together with the development tooling,
permits the rapid development of mission-specific flight software.
By making use of the portability and modularity features of
GenerationOne, flight software can be targeted to execute on a
desktop workstation, allowing early prototyping, debugging and team
development. Similarly, it is trivial to replace subsystem software
components with simulations, permitting development and testing
even if key hardware is unavailable.
documentation and tutorialsThe GenerationOne FSDK includes full
source code for all flight software and is accompanied by an
in-depth User Manual. Also included are a number of tutorials and
fully-featured examples, carefully designed to introduce all key
FSDK concepts and to allow the rapid development of
mission-specific flight software.
extensive component libraryThe GenerationOne FSDK component
library includes a wide range of components covering all mission
needs. As with all elements of our FSDK, Components are developed
to a strict coding standard based on industry norms for
mission-critical software. The FSDK component library includes the
following:
FSDK tooling helps guide engineers through the software
development process rapidly, promoting an agile and iterative
approach.
As protocols are kept separate from the functions of the
software, the FSDK allows different protocols to be used without
impacting software capabilities.
Additional libraries, including support for Java and Python,
allow sophisticate automated test scripts to be developed using the
power of the software model.
Subsystem components for many commercial off-the-shelf products
such as electronic power systems, attitude control systems and
radiosData handling components for efficiently gathering, pooling,
logging and reporting telemetry parameters from the complete
systemMonitoring components which perform checks on parameters to
validate correct system operationsCommunications components which
permit monitoring, control and reporting to and from ground or
other systems using a variety of standard protocolsAutomation
components to permit the automation of onboard activities such as
responding to events and scheduling onboard operations based on
relative time, absolute time or spacecraft orbitMission components
which manage the spacecraft mode and separation sequence
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The core of the GenerationOne FSDK is the model, which captures
the architecture of the software being built in terms of the
components being used. The interfaces to all types of components
are described in a short XML file together with documentation.These
component types can then be instantiated and assembled together to
make a fully-functional flight software deployment according to a
flexible specification. The tooling uses this specification to
generate simple and efficient code, specific to the flight software
deployment, which 'glues' the components together and lets them
interact. Code generation is also provided to speed up component
development and provide templates for component unit testing using
the Unity and CMock tools. Using information from the model,
additional tooling is able to generate full documentation, for
developers or operators, which describes the components and how
they can be used. The GenerationOne model can also be exported,
allowing it to be used by external applications such as the
GenerationOne Mission Control Software.
Services allow components to interact in standard ways and are
at the heart of the GenerationOne component model and framework.
The FSDK framework is built around a lightweight service mechanism
which links components using the information from the underlying
GenerationOne model. Defining component interfaces in terms of
services gives many advantages:
Key functions can be separated from communications protocols
allowing much more efficient use onboard and enabling greater
software reuseStandard services for important activities, such as
working with telemetry parameters, permit operators to work at a
higher semantic levelApplying standard services to input/output
onboard abstracts components away from the underlying platform and
promotes portabilityLocation-independent services allow the easy
distribution of flight software across multiple computing platforms
without adding operational complexity
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Application Component
Interface Component
Network Protocol Handler
Service Protocol Handler
Integrated into a rapid and adaptable workflow, our FSDK helps
realise more value from missions, from single nano-satellites to
large constellations.
An extensive library of validated componentsA lightweight
framework which promotes portability and modularityTooling to
support component development, software integration and test
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brightascension
[email protected] | tel + 44
(0) 1382 602041 | fax +44 (0) 1382 602042
platform and subsystem support
onboard computersOnboard computer (OBC) platforms currently
supported by the GenerationOne FSDK include:
ÅAC Microtec Sirius OBCClyde Space OBCGomSpace Nanomind
A712DPumpkin BeagleBone Black OBCTexas Instruments MSP430-based
platformsVorago VA10820 Radiation Hard OBCXiphos Q7 (Xilinx
Zynq)Many other Linux-based OBCs including Raspberry Pi
The GenerationOne FSDK supports a wide, and growing, range of
hardware and software platforms. Through our unique, efficient
approach to platform abstraction, we can also support a range of
operating systems from vanilla Linux to hard real-time environments
such as RTEMS. Library components allow access to system
peripherals and subsystems in a regular way, permitting a high
degree of modularity. Where the underlying platform provides fully
featured drivers, such as in a Linux environment, driver components
are simply responsible for making these accessible to the rest of
the system. In other environments, especially when running on bare
metal, drivers are written as components making them fully
portable.
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operating systemsThe novel approach to platform abstraction
permits support for operating systems to be treated separately from
the underlying computer platform. Operating systems and
environments currently supported by the GenerationOne FSDK
include:
LinuxFreeRTOSRTEMSBare metal enviroment using the built-in
cooperative multi-tasking capabilities of the framework
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off-the-shelf subsystems communications protocolsThe range of
subsystems supported by the GenerationOne FSDK is extensive, and
growing all the time. We are always interested to support
additional subsystems, particularly if they are widely used, so
contact us if your chosensubsystem is not listed here. Our current
support includes:
ÅAC Microtec Sirius TCMArduCAM Mini 5MP PlusAstrodev radios
including the Helium and LithiumAll Clyde Space
subsystemsCPUT/F'SATI radios including UHF/VHF and S-bandGomSpace
subsystems, including the Nanomind OBCISIS subsystems, including
the UHF/VHF transceiverMaryland Aerospace subsystems, including the
MAI-400NearSpace Launch Eyestar Duplex ModemNovatel OEM6
GPSOrbitonics C3D ImagerPumpkin subsystems, including power
systemsQB50/CubeSpace ADCSQinetiQ Q20 HD GPSA range of miniaturised
sensors and ADCsModems compatible with the ITU-T Rec. V.250
standard
The unique, modular approach to communications in GenerationOne
means that the FSDK can permit support for a wide range of
communications protocols. The current library has support for a
number of standard protocols with many others currently in
development.
ECSS Packet Utilisation Standard (PUS)CCSDS Packet ProtocolCCSDS
File Delivery ProtocolCCSDS Telemetry and Telecommand framing,
synchronisation and coding CCSDS TM Space Data Link ProtocolCCSDS
TM Synchronization and Channel CodingSHA-1 HMAC authentication
The following protocols are in development and will be available
in the near future:
Generic KISS supportCubeSat Space Protocol (CSP)CCSDS TC Data
Link ProtocolsLink-level encryption
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licensing and supportGenerationOne FSDK licensing is on a
per-spacecraft basis, which allows you to use as many concurrent
instances of the software as you need during the development and
operation of a single spacecraft. This covers flight hardware,
engineering models, developer PCs and functional simulators. To
give you the most flexibility we provide full source for onboard
software elements. Other licensing options, including volume
discounts, are available.Each licence includes a full year of
support and maintenance including training to get you started,
delivered either remotely or at one of our office sites. All
additions and improvements we make to GenerationOne FSDK will be
made available to customers during this period. Extended support
options, including additional training, are available.
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brightascension
