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2007
Conference Paper
Title
An unusual approach to dependability for space SW-applications
Abstract
Much more than fault tolerance, space applications require dependability, which is the combination of availability, reliability and safety. Dependability is a major challenge when designing space computing systems, both at software and hardware level. After 30 years of contentious research on how to achieve high dependability, not an universal solution has been found. A huge effort has been invested to improve reliability, using reliable radiation hardened components. However, failures cannot be eliminated totally. The best solution one can achieve is just to postpone failures. Even when significantly postponed, failures still may occur. Big efforts are made to improve reliability, for example by using reliable radiation hardened components. Many other efforts go into improved robustness by means of fault tolerance. In our approach we join efforts from reliability and robustness to reach very high dependability using limited resources. This is important because space mi ssions have to be sparing with resources. Another important aspect when designing board computers is that nowadays, it is not imaginable the use of the same (general purpose) computer in a cube sat (10×10×10 cm3, 1 Kilogram) and in a mini satellite. For each satellite, a special purpose computer configuration need to be assembled, consisting of board computer, payload for cameras, star tracker, power control, reaction wheels, etc.
Language
English
FIRST