Spacecraft computing systems with high-level specifications and FPGAs

A typical modem spacecraft requires computer processing in every major subsystem. The most popular method to carry out these processing requirements involves the use of a primary computer based on microprocessors. To carry out each spacecraft's unique processing requirements, custom software is specified, written, compiled, and executed by the microprocessors. The current process leads to a dedicated group of software engineers to design and create spacecraft software. This process is expensive and error-prone. Errors that occur during the translation of subsystem specifications into software specifications have led to failures and anomalies. This thesis describes a new methodology and toolsets that allow spacecraft subsystem engineers to capture and analyze typical spacecraft processing requirements in a unified and formal specification methodology. Subsystem engineers capture processing requirements with a pair of formal high-level specification languages specifically designed for spacecraft requirements. Control-oriented requirements such as fault detection and isolation features are captured with SpecTRM-RL, while data-oriented requirements such as control law algorithms are captured in a new language and toolset called Octavia.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Ong, Elwin, 1979-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Nancy G. Leveson.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36179

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36179