Session
Session 10: Ground Systems
Abstract
Archiving and trending data is a universal problem for satellite operators. Traditionally this functionality is coded from scratch when creating a ground software solution for a satellite program. This is time consuming, costly and impractical for the typically cost constrained small satellite environment. The open source COSMOS C2 system has eased the burden on small satellite operators for over three years. Its emphasis on simple text file based configuration and ease of use has enabled dramatic cost and time savings across the industry. However, until recently it did not have an included archiving and trending tool. To analyze telemetry, users had to open individual telemetry log files which made trending over time periods of days, weeks, and months very time consuming if not altogether impractical. That has changed with the introduction of DART (Data Archival Retrieval and Trending). DART utilizes a SQL database and maintains the original COSMOS telemetry files while providing instant access to decommutated data over long time periods. DART synchronizes with the COSMOS server and stays up to date even as telemetry definitions change and data points are added and removed. This paper discusses the need and use cases for a data archiving and trending solution in the small satellite environment. It outlines the architectural and implementation details which went into the creation of the DART tool. Finally, it explores the tool in action with practical use cases using real telemetry data.
A Dynamic Open Source Long Term Archiving and Trending Solution for Small Satellites
Archiving and trending data is a universal problem for satellite operators. Traditionally this functionality is coded from scratch when creating a ground software solution for a satellite program. This is time consuming, costly and impractical for the typically cost constrained small satellite environment. The open source COSMOS C2 system has eased the burden on small satellite operators for over three years. Its emphasis on simple text file based configuration and ease of use has enabled dramatic cost and time savings across the industry. However, until recently it did not have an included archiving and trending tool. To analyze telemetry, users had to open individual telemetry log files which made trending over time periods of days, weeks, and months very time consuming if not altogether impractical. That has changed with the introduction of DART (Data Archival Retrieval and Trending). DART utilizes a SQL database and maintains the original COSMOS telemetry files while providing instant access to decommutated data over long time periods. DART synchronizes with the COSMOS server and stays up to date even as telemetry definitions change and data points are added and removed. This paper discusses the need and use cases for a data archiving and trending solution in the small satellite environment. It outlines the architectural and implementation details which went into the creation of the DART tool. Finally, it explores the tool in action with practical use cases using real telemetry data.
