Session
Technical Session VII: Student Competition
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
Small satellite development and operations can be dramatically improved using contemporary software practices and such technologies as system monitoring, containerization, and data analytics. By logging system metrics at all stages of satellite development and operation, as is common practice in current software development operations practices, satellite operators can implement new software more quickly, detect failures sooner, and analyze information more effectively. Michigan eXploration Laboratory (MXL) at the University of Michigan has created a system that aggregates millions of data points from a wide range of sources including our satellite development units, our servers, our ground stations, open source ground station networks, and our flight spacecraft. The system uses multiple data stores, distributed across a number of servers, to house hundreds of gigabytes of telemetry data. Our system then provides novel ways to access that data, including online APIs and GUIs. These tools have afforded MXL an unprecedented ability to rapidly assess and maintain the health of our spacecraft both in development and in orbit.
Applying Modern Software System Design to Small Satellite Development and Operations
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Small satellite development and operations can be dramatically improved using contemporary software practices and such technologies as system monitoring, containerization, and data analytics. By logging system metrics at all stages of satellite development and operation, as is common practice in current software development operations practices, satellite operators can implement new software more quickly, detect failures sooner, and analyze information more effectively. Michigan eXploration Laboratory (MXL) at the University of Michigan has created a system that aggregates millions of data points from a wide range of sources including our satellite development units, our servers, our ground stations, open source ground station networks, and our flight spacecraft. The system uses multiple data stores, distributed across a number of servers, to house hundreds of gigabytes of telemetry data. Our system then provides novel ways to access that data, including online APIs and GUIs. These tools have afforded MXL an unprecedented ability to rapidly assess and maintain the health of our spacecraft both in development and in orbit.
