Blog

What Does Our Core Technology Really Mean?

How our core technology supports software reuse:

For Quick and Cost-Effective Mission Development

 

In the rapidly changing and growing commercial space market, there is a strong need to produce satellite software quickly and at low cost. One of the ways to achieve this is through software reuse, when the package created for one mission can be quickly and easily adapted for another.

To do that, software needs to be broken into units suitable for reuse. But that’s not enough – it also requires flexible ways of integrating the units together, so they can be easily adapted for every change in requirements.

Read on to find out how we approach this challenge through our technology, that we’ve been evolving since our fight launch in 2014.

TECHNOLOGY

What is HELIX Technology?

Our underlying core technology is best described as a combination of three aspects.

  • Model-based

    meaning that it has a machine-readable description of the architecture which is understandable by both the space side and the ground side and is used across the life cycle of the system. This means that the ground side can automatically “see” the entire flight software architecture, making integration and configuration virtually redundant.

  • Component-based

    meaning that the central elements of this platform are software components which are entirely self-contained and have a coherent set of functionality. They are designed to facilitate the idea of reuse and create mission-specific spacecraft flight software through our development environment by combining bespoke components with readily-available library components which have been previously validated.

  • Service-based

    meaning that components use services to interact with each other which provides well-defined semantics for interactions on all levels. Services are used both at a high level, to define how the system can be operated, and a low level, to manage hardware interfaces and hardware diversity. This provides a flexible way of integrating the components within the flight system.

How is this structured within the flight system?

 

The focus of the flight system is on the components, which are used to build the vast majority of its functionality.

While every spacecraft and mission is unique, most space vehicles perform a core set of common functions—such as data acquisition, monitoring, logging, FDIR, telemetry and telecommand (TM/TC), and scheduled or automated actions. Within our framework, these essential capabilities are provided off-the-shelf, significantly accelerating flight software development.

Mission-specific functionality is supported through the creation of custom components, giving developers full flexibility to tailor the software to their needs. They can select the required components, define how they interact, and seamlessly integrate new, bespoke elements where needed.

All components are designed to be portable and compatible with a wide range of hardware platforms and operating systems.

This modular and reusable approach enables faster, more cost-effective development across missions, while also increasing software reliability and long-term scalability.

Services in HELIX Technology:

How to Achieve Software Flexibility Between Missions 

 

The flexibility of out technology is largely based on the loose coupling of components as they can only interact by consuming or providing services which are defined using the underlying model. This approach ensures that components can be used interchangeably, as long as their service requirements can be met.

As we know from real-world examples, software requirements can change as mission experience starts to build up and the suitable service may only shape up and become clear over time.  Our underlying model includes the definition of services, which allows them to evolve, so that new services can be developed to meet new requirements without the need to change existing tooling or infrastructure.

This flexibility means that as the space system grows or a need for new missions emerges, the existing components can be swapped in and out and the software can be quickly adapted to a new spacecraft.

 

Model-Based Software Engineering:

How to Streamline Integration of Flight and Ground Sides

 

The HELIX Technology can be applied to both flight and ground software and one of the most significant advantages is in the integration of the two. Thanks to the model-based approach, the entire flight software package, developed through our Flightkit, can be quickly and easily understood by our ground system Mission Control Software (MCS).

The spacecraft database generated by each specific deployment can be loaded into our operations software to automatically populate it with all the spacecraft components. This gives the system a full view of the different services and the concepts of the components, which allows for easy interaction at a very high level and extensive opportunities for automated operations.

 

Don’t just take our word for it:

Our innovative software technology that has been tried and tested in flight with over 50 deployments in orbit.

With 25 Earth observation missions, 10 communication projects and 15 demonstration spacecraft, all powered by our cutting-edge technology, you can rest assured your mission’s software is in safe hands. Explore our case studies to find out more.

 

BOOK A DEMO: FIND OUT MORE

 

We’ve been evolving our technology since our first launch in 2014 through extensive development work. During this time, our software has powered more than 50 spacecraft in orbit, helping them to maximise their mission potential. 

Contact us today to see our products in action and arrange a one-to-one demo of our software, tailored to your unique mission needs and requirements.