Adaptive Flight Software for Nanosatellite Systems

Abstract

For space missions, the flight heritage of space components of nanosatellites is crucial, and it is a key element for mission success. One of the major elements is the Flight Software (FS), which is considered as a critical part of mission success. Hence, the same concept is applicable on the flight software since it is verified, and been tested in space. The FS architecture needs to be well defined to contain all the requirements, avoid delays in the project by requirement changes or modifications, and accelerate the process of software development. The purpose of this thesis is to define an adaptive FS for nanosatellite systems that can support different missions and payloads. The main elements and features of the FS have been defined, and satisfied with the corresponding requirements. The study has been applied on MYSAT-1 project. MYSAT-1 is a nanosatellite project where its main objective is earth-observation by taking photos of the earth and sending them to the ground station. Also, it will demonstrate in orbit a new Lithium – Ion battery, developed at Masdar Institute laboratories. This thesis mainly contributes to the field of nanosatellites systems by proposing a definition to the FS for nanosatellite systems. Also, a generalization of the On Board Computer (OBC) software, OBC hardware, data structures for telemetry and payload for nanosatellite systems are given. Additionally, a contribution to the failure detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) as a feedback loop.

Date of Award	Jul 2018
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Prashanth Marpu (Supervisor)