REU Site: Research Experience in Developing Software for Mission Critical Space Systems

该网站由国防部与NSF REU计划合作支持。任务和安全关键系统的软件开发对美国经济、国家安全和增长至关重要。当一个系统必须维持人类生命或具有因误操作而伤害人类的能力时，使用适当的设计、开发和测试技术尤为重要。这种REU经验使学生意识到并开始习惯于可靠性的设计、编程、调试和测试。即使学生最终没有从事关键任务系统的专业工作或研究，这些相同的技术也可以帮助防止软件错误，这些错误可能导致错误操作或使软件容易受到攻击和危害。REU网站向学生介绍关键任务系统的设计标准。他们正在获得在真正的关键任务网络物理系统上工作的实践经验，并认识到设计过程的重要性。参与活动的学生将参观附近的斯坦利·R·米克尔森(Stanley R.Mickelsen)保障设施，即导弹发射区(美国曾在这里，但现在已停用反弹道导弹防御系统)。与会者将参与北达科他大学(UND)正在开发的开放源码/开放硬件CubeSat级卫星(开放轨道器)的设计。开放轨道器(OPEN)是一项由学生领导的努力，旨在建立开发、发射和管理立方体卫星空间任务所需的全方位系统。为了测试所需的各种系统，并向参与者提供执行真正任务的实践经验，国际和平研究所每年在太阳气球上发射一次开放轨道器原型。这包括原型的准备和测试、发射、回收行动和任务后汇报。参与者在所有这些方面都发挥着关键作用。由于开放轨道器使用一台树莓PI和四台Gumstix计算机进行星载处理，因此需要多线程编程/并行编程来管理卫星。事实上，开放轨道器系统需要在计算机科学、控制软件(操作系统)、地面站软件和图形、有效载荷传感器接口和数据管理、飞行任务和航天器规划软件(任务调度)、软件测试(验证)的所有领域进行开发，为与会者提供各种可重点关注的主题。在参加联合国开发计划署的活动结束后，参与者将前往喷气推进实验室，在那里他们将由飞行任务和软件设计小组的科学家指导，并对他们在联合国开发计划署和模拟飞行任务的工作进行审查。他们还将参观该设施，了解软件设计系统和流程对过去喷气推进实验室飞行任务的重要性。最后，作为航空航天系统，软件开发将遵守DO-178B/C(机载系统和设备认证中的软件考虑事项)。

The site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.Software development for mission and safety critical systems is critical to the United States economy, national security, and growth. The use of appropriate design, development and testing techniques is particularly important when a system must sustain human life or has the capability to injure humans through mal-operation. This REU experience makes students aware of and begins to get them used to designing, programming, debugging and testing for reliability. Even if students do not end up working professionally on or researching mission critical systems, these same techniques can help prevent software errors which may cause mal-operation or leave the software susceptible to attack and compromise.This REU Site introduces students to the design criteria of mission critical systems. They are gaining hands-on experience working on a real mission-critical cyber-physical system and gaining an appreciation of the importance of design processes. The participating students will visit the nearby Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Missile Launch Area (home to the United States but now deactivated, anti-ballistic missile defense system). The participants will be involved in the design of an Open-Source/Open-hardware CubeSat class satellite (Open Orbiter) that has been under development at University of North Dakota (UND). Open Orbiter (OPEN) is a student led effort that is building up the full spectrum of systems required to develop, launch, and manage a CubeSat space mission. In order to test the variety of systems required and provide the participants with hands-on experience of conducting a real mission, the PIs are conducting one launch per year of an Open Orbiter prototype on a solar balloon. This includes the preparation and testing of the prototype, the launch, the recovery operation, and the post mission debriefing. Participants play key roles in all of these aspects. As Open Orbiter uses a Raspberry Pi and four Gumstix computers for the on-board processing, multithreaded programming/parallel programming is required to manage the satellite. In fact, the Open Orbiter system requires development in all areas of computer science, control software (operating system), ground station software and graphics, payload sensor interfacing and data management, mission and spacecraft planning software (task scheduling), software testing (validation), providing the participants with a variety of topics to focus on. At the end of their participation at UND, participants will travel to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they will be mentored by scientists in the mission and software design groups and conduct a review of their work at UND and a mock mission. They will also tour the facility and learn about the importance of software design systems and processes for past JPL missions. Finally, as an aerospace system, software development will abide by DO-178B/C (Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification).