NASA: Using free Software on Earth and in Space

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NASA Using free Softwareon Earth and in Space

• Software Livre
• 30 May 2001

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Issues in Using Free Software

• Data security and privacy
• Verification, for Mission critical applications
• Policy - management view and understanding
• Lack of the cost metric
• if its free, its not worth anything
• Experience base

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disclaimer

• The opinions expressed are those of the authors,
  and do not necessarily represent NASA policy

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Discussion Areas

• Space applications
• FlightLinux
• IP-in-space
• Interplanetary Internet
• Ground
• low cost workstations
• Bewulf clusters

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Space applicationsof free software

• FlightLinux
• IP-in-space
• Interplanetary Internet

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FlightLinux

• A New Option for Spacecraft
• Onboard Computer Operating Systems

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Agenda

• Project Description
• The Linux Operating System
• Porting Linux to Spacecraft Computers
• Benefits
• Related Research
• Status
• Challenges
• Additional information

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FlightLinux Project

• Selected by NASA Headquarters, Office of Earth
  Science in May 2000 as a funded project for 2
  years.
• Government-Industry team
• NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
• QSS Group, Inc.
• Principal Investigator Pat Stakem, QSS Group,
  Inc.
• Partners
• Surrey Space Technology Labs (UK)
• Omni Project (Goddard Code 588)

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Why Linux?

• Open source
• Flexible
• Extendable
• Free
• Supports multiple target platforms
• Supports networking which enables multiprocessing
• Commonality with ground platforms - easy to
  migrate applications
• Real-time extensions available
• Large worldwide experience base to draw on

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Open Source Approach

• The FlightLinux Project will maintain the
  configuration-controlled official version.
• FTP site will contain the source code for
  downloading.
• Code will be accepted for verification - People
  want to work on this!
• NASA Policy on the use of OpenSource Software

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What is a flight computer?

• Spacecraft onboard computer
• radiation hardened
• low power wide temperature range
• embedded
• no rotating secondary memory
• Custom versus c.o.t.s.
• Tasks
• communications and data handling
• attitude and orbit control
• power and thermal management
• instrument control

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FlightLinux onboard computer Linux port Assessment

• Target base architecture assessment
• RAD6000 R/6000 - PPC-603e cots
• RH32 MIPS, R3000 cots
• Mongoose-V MIPS, no MMU cots, modified
• RHPPC PPC cots
• RAD750 PPC-750 cots
• ERC32 SPARC cots
• IA-32 Pentium, 80x86 cots
• SNAP-1 StrongARM cots
• here, cots a Linux version exists.

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Benefits

• Onboard LAN
• FireWire/SpaceWire
• 1553/1773 Master/Slave
• 10Base-T
• Onboard file system, in the bulk memory
• Onboard Java applets, via JVM
• Onboard web page serving
• IP to and on the spacecraft

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Potential BenefitsThe OES Sensor Web

• FlightLinux Enables the Office of Earth Sciences
  Sensor Web Concept
• Internet connectivity among constellations of
  Earth orbiting satellites.
• Commonality of ground and space-based
  environments for ease of application migration.

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Related Research

• Posix-compliant application software
• End-to-end IP IP-to-the-spacecraft
• Omni Project - this has been demonstrated.
• Flight Java
• algorithm migration demonstrated
• Onboard networked file systems
• Beowulf - distributed processing

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Related Research The OMNI Experience

• IP-to-the-Spacecraft
• Demonstrated May/June 2000
• UoSat-12 spacecraft,
• 80386EX onboard computer, 4 megabytes RAM
• 128 megabytes additional (soft) RAM
• sCOS operating system, with TCP/IP stack
• Demonstrated functionality
• Ping
• FTP up down

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Related research-onboard algorithms

• FlatSat (Omni Project)
• 233 MHz Intel-based processor
• embedded system, PC-104 bus, Linux
• Multispectral image classification algorithm
• implemented in Java, 7 Megabyte footprint
• 70-90 data downlink reduction (demonstrated
  1/2001)
• Onboard LAN connected instrument
• TCP/IP over 10Base-T
• simulated scanning instrument, Landsat MSS-class
• Downlink
• TCP/IP over 10Base-T

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Status

• Preliminary build of FlightLinux is running on
  our breadboard.
• Agreement with SSTL to use UoSat-12 for flight
  validation on a no-funds-exchanged basis.
• Agreement with OMNI Project to use their UoSat-12
  breadboard computer for testing, and their ground
  station, in exchange for continued access for
  IP-in-space testing.
• FlightLinux has been loaded on the UoSat-12
  breadboard and is under test.

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Challenges-things to do

• Communications Security
• in work, NASA/GSFC - OMNI Project
• Communications techniques
• Mobile IP model (in work, OMNI Project)
• Bulk Memory device driver
• Software RAID over Mdisk?
• Real-time extensions
• major flurry of activity in commercial world
• Specific Device drivers
• CAN bus, HDLC sync serial.
• Application Code
• SSTL will do the port of their code

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Publicity

• Project Website for both documentation and as a
  portal site.
• Commercial inquiries by large aerospace firms.
• Inquiry/interview by SourceForge.com, a site that
  reports on Open Source news and links to current
  items of interest to those in the Open Source
  community.

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FlightLinux Project Web Page

• http//flightlinux.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• and
• http//AQUA.QSSMEDS.COM/flightlinux/

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Whats next

• Other ports of FlightLinux to architectures of
  interest
• Get buy-in from a flight mission
• Standardization
• Formalize participation by interested parties
• Commercialization

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Interplanetary Internet

• Extension of Internet off of the planetary
  surface to other planets
• to low Earth Orbit, IP, Mobile-IP works ok
• need new approaches at planetary distances
• long-haul optical channels between planets

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GroundApplicationsof free software

• low cost workstations
• Beowulf clusters

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Low cost workstations

• Commodity pcs as an alternative to workstations
• Linux as an alternative to Proprietary OpSys
• Linux apps as alternatives to commercial packages
• with due concern for interoperability of file
  formats

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Beowulf clusters

• Concept code developed at NASA/GSFC by Center
  of Excellence in Space Data and Information
  Sciences (Code 930.5). Now commercialized by
  Scyld Corp.
• Low-cost cluster of workstations working
  cooperatively to process science data at
  super-computing speeds.
• Public-domain and open source software (COTS)
• Linux Operating System
• MPI (Message Passing Interface) or PVM (Parallel
  Virtual Machine)
• More Information
• http//beowulf.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• http//www.scyld.com/

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The QSS Beowulf Cluster

• 16 nodes single processor Pentium 133 MHz, 32
  meg RAM, 1Gbyte hard disk, CD-ROM, no keyboard,
  mouse or screen.
• 100 Mbps ethernet connection (private network).
• Only the master node has human interface, and a
  connection to the corporate LAN / internet.
• More information
• http//aqua.qssmeds.com/beowulf

Recycled Corporate PCs
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In conclusion

• The future of Free Software looks good
• It can be accepted in real-world applications
• It requires a new paradigm and new policies
• Its use is not limited to the surface of one
  planet