Interacting with Flight Software

This guide will show you the process of interacting with flight software using tmtclab. We will cover starting tmtclab, importing a Spacecraft Database (SCDB), invoking an Action, and checking the Packet Monitor.

Building the Deployment

This how-to guide will use the demo_linux Deployment.

From the FSDK root directory, use the following command in a terminal to navigate to Source directory

 cd OBSW/Source/

The Deployment needs to be generated to produce a spacecraft_database (SCDB). The SCDB contains a description of all the Components within the Deployment. It allows tmtclab to interact with the flight software without requiring the labour-intensive construction of a packet database.

Execute the following codegen command to generate the demo_linux Deployment and produce a SCDB:

 codegen deployment generate demo_linux

Execute the following make commands to build the app module, demo_linux Deployment, and framework module:

 make -C app force target
 make -C framework force target
 make -C demo_linux force target

force is used to ensure that the Deployment is built even if it is up to date. target is used to specify that only the target-specific Deployment should be built. I.E. unit tests and other targets will not be built.

Starting tmtclab

The tmtclab ground software requires very little configuration to communicate with Deployments produced in the FSDK. The first step is to launch the tmtclab executable.

Open a new terminal in the to the FSDK root directory and navigate to the TMTCLab directory:

 cd ./GNDSW/TMTCLab/

Execute the following command to launch tmtclab:

 ./GNDSW/TMTCLab/runLab.cmd

Load the SCDB into tmtclab

A splash screen should now pop up, confirming that tmtclab is loading.

Figure 1. tmtclab Splash Screen

Once tmtclab has launched, click the Manage deployments button to load the demo SCDB.

Figure 2. Manage Deployments Button

Select the obsw target, and then click Set deployment….

If you have used tmtclab before and already have a Deployment set, this button will instead read Replace deployment

Figure 3. Set Deployment Button

This launches the Open new SCDB… dialog:

Figure 4. Open New SCDB Screen

Click the … file selector button to the right of Definition file:, select the SCDB generated above: OBSW/Source/demo_linux/doc/deployment.scdb, and click Open.

Figure 5. Imports Spacecraft Database

Select Open to import the SCDB.

Finally, close the Deployment Management dialog.

Figure 6. Added Deployment

These configuration steps only need to be carried out once. tmtclab will now load this SCDB automatically on startup.

Connecting to the Flight Software

To communicate with the running flight software, you’ll need to configure tmtclab as a TCP client.

Select the Connect… button to open the Connect to Onboard Software dialog

Figure 7. Connect button

In the Connection type: dropdown, select TCP Server. Ensure that the Port is set to 51423 and Framing is set to Packet stream, then click Connect

Figure 8. TCP Server

The connection indicator in the bottom-right corner of the tmtclab main window should now report that the server has started:

Figure 9. Started Indicator

Starting the Flight Software

The newly created binary file can now be executed to start the flight software.

Execute the following command to start the flight software.

 ./demo_linux/bin/linux/demo_linux

The connection indicator in the bottom-right corner of the tmtclab main window should now report that the flight software is connected:

Figure 10. Connected Indicator

Invoking Actions

On the left-hand side of the tmtclab main window, find the Asset node in the tree. This represents the spacecraft tmtclab is connected to - in this case the asset is your Linux computer.

The 'demo_linux' Deployment is located in the Asset/obsw node. Expanding this displays the component instances within the Deployment.

Figure 11. Asset Tree

Within the Version component instance, double-click on the dumpVersion Action to launch an action invocation dialog. Select the Invoke action ➡ button to invoke the dumpVersion Action.

Figure 12. Invoke Action

The demo Deployment should print your message to the terminal in which it is running.

Figure 13. Version Output

Viewing the Packet Monitor

You can see the details of the telecommands and telemetry sent between the ground and flight software by looking at the Packet Monitor view:

Select the Packet monitor button:

Figure 14. Packet Monitor Button

The Packet Monitor window should now be visible. Notice that the telecommand for the dumpVersion Action is acknowledged automatically by the flight software.

Selecting a packet provides further information about the packet data.

Figure 15. Packet Monitor