Speakers
Description
Selecting the right technologies for a Next Generation Data Handling System is of significant importance – especially for a mission of such kind like the Deep Space Gateway Habitat and Esprit modules.
Furthermore, the design and verification processes shall be simplified and standardized to allow more efficient development and maintenance.
Intelligent devices, distributed modular avionics, run-time reconfigurable flight software frameworks and platform abstractions are evolving significantly and some are already used in different space missions.
Standardized open architectures and interfaces are the basis for such an approach.
Airbus DS will use the existing OBC-SA/SPINAS infrastructure to implement an Integrated Modular Avionics demonstrator for the Deep Space Gateway Habitat and Esprit avionics and software architecture.
But also a huge range of different other applications are possible, since the architechture is flexible and modular.
In the field of Visual Based Navigation (VBN) the architecture is used to build up a demonstrator in the ESA COMRADE study and it is a candidate for the Landing Processing Unit of the PILOT program (lunar lander). These VBN applications benefit of the number crunching abilities of the architecture.
Furthermore, Robotic Control incl. tactile control systems is another promising application. The mix of required high performance and required high reliability make high demands to the avionic sub-systems, but these are fulfilled by the SPINAS architecture. Promising first applications are SpaceTug or Robotic Arm Control on the ISS Bartholomeo platform.
Finally future applications like autonomous systems are important points to be considered by todays avionics developments. Airbus DS prepares different approaches to provide the processing capability for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in orbit to support real-time monitoring. These processing capabilities can be added into a SPINAS based processing hardware.
The SPINAS Next Generation Data Handling System is comprised of three main ingredients:
- Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA)
Airbus Defense & Space Bremen has developed a multi-purpose space infrastructure computer, which is configurable and scalable with respect to function and redundancy. The radiation hard and high-reliability 4-Core CPU is based on the GR740 LEON4 implementation and is accompanied by an interface module (FPGA-based peripheral extension card). The EQM is available and the associated environmental tests for this computer will be completed in Q4 2018.
To ensure the needed flexibility the system builds up on the standard "compactPCIserial for Space". It guarantees the extensibility of the system as HW components can be easily extended or altered due to the fully standardized backplane. Several additional boards from different vendors are already existing (ranging from additional interfaces to high-performance CPU boards).
The operating system is a real-time operating system which provides capabilities for time and space partitioning. This means that:
- Applications and services are encapsulated within individual partitions – there is no direct interaction with other applications running on the same platform, e.g. strict data-control coupling is ensured.
- Applications are not aware that they are running on a shared system – each application has a dedicated slot where the CPU is reserved for this application. This means that each application gains the appropriate computing power needed without any interruption of other processes.
- Data exchange is performed via standardized interfaces.
- System boundaries are invisible to applications.
- The hardware is not directly accessed by applications. Instead each application uses a standardized interface which is handled by the operating system. This results in shared interfaces so that the number of hardware can be reduced, e.g. not every application needs its own dedicated Ethernet interface. All traffic can be shared and distributed to the running instances.
Each application can be developed by different entities and be safely integrated as one common platform is ensured. This enables distributed SW development and helps to reduce costs as “make-or-buy” strategy is already considered.
- Platform-independent and reusable open-source software framework - cFS
On top of this modular architecture is the software framework layer. The second key technology which is implemented is the extension of the cFS with mission specific Apps. cFS defines a standardized communication layer between applications. This enables easier development, integration, and testing for such applications.
Furthermore, cFS enables more flexibility as stopping, restarting and even re-allocation of applications from one computer to another computer is possible – and of special interest for developers and integrators.
- TT-Ethernet Communication Bus
Finally, the main communication channel is based on TT-Ethernet (Time Triggered Ethernet) which enables a safe, stable, and deterministic communication between systems and applications.
Due to the time triggered approach, safety related messages arrive in time and ensures well-balanced network load.
To conclude, by using these three technologies and combining them into one computer platform, we are confident to build the Next Generation of Data Handling System – for the Deep Space Gateway modules and all other missions.
| Paper submission | Yes |
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