OpenSatKit

A Tool Suite for Working with

NASA’s Core Flight System

Workshop on Open-Source
Space Missions Design Tools

David McComas
[email protected]

Open STEMware Foundation 3/1/22

1
 Introduction

OpenSatKit • OpenSatKit was originally created to help flight software

developers adopt and work with NASA’s core Flight System (cFS)
• OpenSatKit combines COSMOS, cFS, and 42 into a single platform
Simulator
– All users must install the complete system regardless of their goals

• OpenSatKit is currently being decomposed into multiple

on components that can be combined to better serve user needs
Ubuntu • Agenda
Linux
1. Describe the new tool suite
2. Demonstrate end-to-end simulation using the current OpenSatKit
3. Demonstrate cFS app development using cFS Application Toolkit (cFSAT)

• This slide deck contains many details that will not be presented, but
Command & Control will be valuable as a future reference

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 NASA’s core Flight System

NASA’s core Flight System (cFS) is

an open-source flight software (FSW)
framework providing an application
runtime environment that is portable
across different hardware/operating
system platforms.

The cFS provides a high quality FSW

with decades of flight heritage.

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 cFS Layered Architecture

Platform Abstraction: Provides portability across different operating systems including Linux, FreeRTOS, and RTEMS
Application Services: Creates an application runtime environment that allows apps to be reused across projects
Libraries and Apps: Provide project functionality

Bundle Applications
Libraries and Applications & Libraries
NASA
Application Services cFS Bundle
NASA
Platform Abstraction cFS Framework

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 OpenSatKit Overview
• OpenSatKit (OSK) is suite of open-source products built upon NASA’s core Flight
System (cFS)
• It provides:
1. A cFS educational platform
2. A design & development environment for mission flight software applications
3. Platforms for STEM** education and hobbyists
4. Platforms for technology development

OSK Runtime Bundle

• Built on NASA’s cFS Electronic Data Sheet (EDS) Framework
– EDS supports standards-based interface specifications
• The app suite provides essential flight software functionality
– Command & Telemetry ground interfaces
– Onboard file management and ground-flight file transfers
• Assured framework-app compatibility

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 OpenSatKit Product Suite

cFSAT Bundle Adds:

- Educational Apps
- PySimpleGUI for Simulator
Command, Telemetry,
& Control

Simulation Bundle Adds:

Pi-SAT Bundle Adds: - Mission Apps
- Raspberry Pi Apps - 42 Simulator
- PySimpleGUI for - COSMOS for
Command, Telemetry, Command, Telemetry,
& Control & Control
OpenSatKit Bundle
- Runtime App Suite
- cFS-EDS Framework
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 cFSAT

• Lightweight platform that serves as a cFS

– Educational platform
cFS Community – Application development environment
“EDS Apps”
• Suitable for software STEM educational projects including
– FSW application development and test
– Ground software data processing
• Uses the cFS with Electronic Data Sheets (EDS) Framework
– Includes an EDS toolchain that creates ground and flight software artifacts from cFS apps
packaged with an EDS interface specification
– Uses latest cFS v7 Caelum release
• Educational apps for training and self-guided tutorials
• Minimalistic Command, Telemetry and Control ground system
– Written in a lightweight portable python GUI framework called PySimpleGUI
• OpenSatKit-Apps is a github repository of cFS Apps with EDS specifications

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 Pi-SAT

• Adds Raspberry Pi libraries and apps

– Use low-cost Raspberry Pi boards to learn and use the cFS Framework

• Low-cost hardware platform ideal for learning how to write cFS “interface
apps”
– Provides command and telemetry interface to a hardware device
– Use Python to talk with your system

• Base platform can be customized for STEM educational projects

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 cFSIM

• Complete ground, flight, and dynamic simulation system including

– Ball Aerospace’s COSMOS command and control platform for embedded systems
Simulator
– NASA Goddard’s 42 dynamic simulator

• Suitable for
– Flight software application development and test
– End-to-end software simulation
– Ground software data processing

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 2022 OSK Product Roadmap
Current OpenSatKit
https://github.com/OpenSatKit/OpenSatKit/wiki cFSIM

Simulator
OpenSatKit
“EDS Apps”

Refactor
SimSat** on &
Distribute
Ubuntu Linux Beta Release
https://github.com/OpenSatKit/cfsat

cFSAT
Command, Telemetry
& Control

Workshop on Open Source Space Mission Design Tools

**SimSat = Reference mission flight software app suite Page 10
 OpenSatKit
End-to-End Simulation

11
 42 Standalone
42 Simulator
Measured
State Telemetry
Ephemeris,
Environment, Device FSW
Console
& Dynamic Models Commands
Models
Algorithms
Forces &
Torques

User interact with the

simulation via the console
and graphics

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 OpenSatKit 42 Simulation
42 Simulator

Ephemeris,
Environment, Device Flight Software
COSMOS Console
& Dynamic Models algorithms Manually
Models ported to an app
Screens
Command
Telemetry

Socket
Interface
Command
Flight Software Telemetry

Scripts Telemetry
Telemetry
Output
I42 F42
Commands
Command
Ingest

Osk_42_lib

Publish/Subscribe Message Bus

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 42 Flight Software App Telemetry

Flight software attitude control app defines

a “Take Science” flag
• Used by “operations” to determine when to
enable science data collection
• Set to TRUE when attitude errors on all three
axes are below a threshold
• Default threshold is .0005 radians

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 Demo Introduction
• Demo 1
– Use OpenSatKit screens to run and interact with a simulation
– Observe the behavior of the “take science” flag
• Demo 2
– Run a script that manages an ops scenario
• Waits for the “Take Science” flag to equal TRUE
• Powers on a simulated science instrument
• Notes
– OSK was originally designed for flight software developers so
– OSK does not have the latest version of 42
– The F42 app has changed with each 42 update, but not all F42’s functions have been updated
• Please provide feedback!
– These demos can serve as the start of a conversation for how OSK could better serve students

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 Demo Reference Slides

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 Running OSK (1 of 2)

1. Open a terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-t)

2. Navigate to the base directory where you installed OSK
– “~/” is used to indicate the OSK base directory so “~/cfs” is equivalent to
“/home/user/OpenSatKit/cfs” if OpenSatKit was installed in the home directory for an account
named “user”
3. Change directory to cosmos
– cd ~/cosmos
4. Start COSMOS
– ~/cosmos$ ruby Launcher

5. Select <OK> to create the “Launcher” screen

shown on the next slide
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 Running OSK (2 of 2)

6. Select “OpenSatKit” icon with a single click

– This launches COSMOS’s Command and Telemetry Server,
Telemetry Viewer, and displays OSK’s main window
– You can minimize the COSMOS tools, but don’t close them

• Each tools on the COSMOS “Launcher” runs as a separate Linux

process with a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• Shaded tool titles indicate the COSMOS tools used by OSK
– You do not have to invoke these tools directly
– OSK screens launch COSMOS tools as they are needed to perform a task
– A backup slide shows a COSMOS architectural view with the data flows
between tools

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 OSK Screen Driven System
• Four tabs cFS Education, Mission FSW, PiSat, and R&D correspond to four cFS targets/ OSK Use Cases
• Each tab’s screen has a similar layout and its own “Getting Started” Guide

User Objective Tab

System/Target
Management

Learning Resources

Content specific to
User Objective Tab

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 Mission Flight Software Tab
The Mission Flight Software tab manages the end-to-end simulation

The attitude determination and

control app group provides screens
to interact with the I42 and F42 apps

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 Attitude Determination and Control Applications

SimSat reference
Mission app suite

Launch screen
that is used in the
demo

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 42 Flight Software App Telemetry

Start script-based
Demo using COSMOS
Script Runner

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 Ops Script Demo

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 OSK Document Roadmap
OpenSatKit/docs
1 – OSK Quick Start: Top-level introduction to OSK and a roadmap for more in-depth engagement
3 – OSK COSMOS Guide: Describes how COSMOS has been configured and extended for OSK
– OSK App Developer’s Guide: Describes how to develop apps using the OSK application framework
OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/CFSAT/docs (cFS educational platform)
– cFS Education Quick Start Guide: Introduction to OSK’s cFS educational target and associated resources
2 – core Flight System (cFS) Overview: Introduction to flight software (FSW) and NASA’s cFS
– core Flight Executive (cFE) Overview: Overview of the cFE framework and its application services
OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/CFE_[service] /docs
– Each cFE service contains its own tutorial document
OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/SIMSAT/docs (cFS-based mission)
– Mission FSW Quick Start Guide: Introduction to OSK’s cFS-based mission target and associated resources
– Simple Sat Overview: Describes the SimpleSat reference mission
– Application Group Guides: Multiple documents that describe how groups of cFS community apps work together
OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/PISAT/docs (Raspberry Pi distro for STEM education)
– Pi-Sat Quick Start Guide: Introduction to OSK’s Raspberry Pi target and associated resources
OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/SANDBOX/docs (cFS application playground)
– Research & Development Quick Start Guide: Introduction to OSK’s R&D target and associated resources

Recommended reading order if you’re new to the cFS. The next steps depends on your goals.
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 OpenSatKit 42 Notes

• 42 configuration
– The OpenSatKit/42/OSK directory contains the 42 configuration files used in the simulation
– Flight software and 42 time is not synchronized
• Simple/Simulated Satellite (SimSat) is a fictitious reference mission
– The SimSat Quick Start Guide is incomplete
• The demo ops script is located at
– OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/SIMSAT/procedures/demo_ctrl_take_sci.rb
• I42 and F42 command and telemetry definitions serve as the current documentation
– OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/F42/cmd_tlm
– OpenSatKit/cosmos/config/targets/I42/cmd_tlm
• The process to develop and port new algorithms from 42 to a flight software app is
complicated and undocumented

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 Creating a “Hello World”
Flight Software Application

26
 Objectives

• Guide participants through the process of creating and running

a core Flight System (cFS) application

• Introduce technical concepts including

– cFS framework and applications
– CCSDS Electronic Data Sheets (EDS)
– OpenSatKit application framework

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 Approach

• The short introduction will be a normal slide presentation

• After cFSAT is installed, we will run the python ground system and use it to
launch tutorials that will step us through exercises
• We will perform each exercise together and I will pause for any questions
• Significant effort was made to minimize prerequisites
– Multiple concepts, systems, tools, and workflows are applied, but a detailed knowledge of these is not required
• Versioning notes
– cFS is a prerelease of Caelum
– cFSAT is a beta release
– The OSK framework library (osk_c_fw) and demo app (osk_c_demo) originated from OSK
3.2 (cFS Aquila)
• They have been updated to cFS Caelum
• Transferred to their own repos in the OpenSatKit-Apps project
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 Agenda

1. cFS and cFSAT Introduction

2. cFSAT Installation**
3. Hands on Exercises
A. Build and Run the cFS
B. Create Hello World App
C. Modify Hello World App

** https://github.com/OpenSatKit/cfsat

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 cFS Architectural Overview
• cFS uses a three-tiered software architecture that provides a portable flight software
framework with a product line deployment model
• Platform Abstraction Layer ports to different operating systems (OS) / processor combinations
• Compile-time configuration parameters and run-time command/table parameters provide
adaptability and scalability
• cFE Framework provides portable application runtime environment
• Mission functionality implemented by a combination of reusable and mission-specific apps

Application
CI_LAB, SCH_LAB,
Layer Applications and Libraries TO_LAB, SAMPLE

Application
cFE API
Service cFS
Layer Core Flight Executive Bundle
cFS
Framework
Platform OS Abstraction API PSP API
Abstraction Linux VxWorks
Platform
RTEMS
Layer Support
Port Port Port
Package

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 cFS Application Architectural Context

• The cFE, Operating System Abstraction Layer (OSAL), and Platform Support Package
(PSP) provide services and access to system resources for applications
• The Software Bus (SB) is the predominant service that needs to be understood for this
tutorial
– OSK’s cfsat target documentation provides cFS educational material
https://github.com/OpenSatKit/OpenSatKit/tree/master/cosmos/config/targets/CFSAT/docs
• SB provides a publish/subscribe message bus
– Apps publish messages on the bus using a broadcast model
– Apps received messages by creating pipes (FIFO queue) and subscribing to messages on
a pipe

CCSDS SB CCSDS
Message Message
Pipe
Sending Receiving
App App

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 cFS Application Runtime Environment
cFS Framework
A core set of apps are required to provide a
Send HK runtime environment
Execute Cycle
– Different app implementations can provide
Scheduler App X
customized solutions for different platforms
– File management & transfer not shown
App X HK Tlm
Cmds

Scheduler (SCH) sends messages at fixed time

intervals to signal apps to perform a particular
Command Telemetry function
Ingest Output

UDP UDP
Command Ingest (CI) receives commands from an
Port 1234 Port 1235 external source and publishes them on the SB

cFSAT Python Ground System

Telemetry Out (TO) receives messages from the SB
and sends them to an external destination
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 Application Run Loop Messaging Example
Initialize App
Subscribe to send
Start housekeeping, exec,
Suspend execution until a command messages
message arrives on app’s pipe

Pend on SB message pipe

Periodic execute message from
SCH app
Yes Perform periodic
Exec?
functions

Periodic send housekeeping No

message from SCH app
• Typically, on the order of seconds Send Yes
Send HK message
• “Housekeeping cycle” convenient HK?
time to perform non-critical functions
No

Yes
Cmd? Process Command
Process commands
• Commands can originate from
ground or other onboard apps No

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 Electronic Data Sheets
• An Electronic Data Sheet (EDS) is a formal specification of a device, system, or
software interface in a machine-readable format
• EDS specifies black box view of interfaces

C Header Files Flight

C Header Files
C Header Files Software

EDS Compile Time Process

Lua/Python
Bindings
Ground
System

Single definition of data in EDS propagates to rest of system.

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 cFSAT Python Ground System

Create Run
App Tool Tutorial
Send Configuration Send Commands Display Telemetry
Commands to cFS from cFS

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 Install cFSAT Prerequisites

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 Clone cFSAT Repo and Run Python Ground System

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 Hand on Exercises

The remainder of this workshop will be performed by launching tutorials from cFSAT’s
Tutorial menu

We will be using the following tutorials

1. Build and Run the cFS

2. Create Hello World App

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