Safety-critical Partitioned Software Architecture: A Partitioned Software Architecture for Robotic Spacecraft

Abstract

The ight software on virtually every mission currently managed by JPL has several major aws that make it vulnerable to potentially fatal software defects. Many of these problems can be addressed by recently developed partitioned operating systems (OS). JPL has avoided adopting a partitioned operating system on its ight missions, primarily because doing so would require signi cant changes in ight software design, and the risks associated with changes of that magnitude cannot be accepted by an active ight project. The choice of a partitioned OS can have a dramatic e ect on the overall system and software architecture, allowing for realization of bene ts far beyond the concerns typically associated with the choice of OS. Speci cally, we believe that a partitioned operating system, when coupled with an appropriate architecture, can provide a strong infrastructure for developing systems for which reusability, modi ability, testability, and reliability are essential qualities. By adopting a partitioned OS, projects can gain bene ts throughout the entire development lifecycle, from requirements and design, all the way to implementation, testing, and operations.