OPS-SAT is a CubeSat by the European Space Agency and it is intended to demonstrate the improvements in mission control capabilities that will arise when satellites can fly more powerful on-board computers. The satellite features an experimental computer that is ten times more powerful than any current ESA spacecraft. The OPS-SAT mission has the objective to break the cycle of "has never flown, will never fly" in the area of satellite control. It will be the first CubeSat operated directly by ESA.
Overview
OPS-SAT will provide an in-orbit test-bed environment for the deployment of different experiments to test new protocols, new algorithms, and new techniques. The satellite is being designed to be robust and no single point of failure should exist, therefore it shall be always possible to recover the spacecraft if something goes wrong with one of the software experiments. The robustness of the basic satellite itself will allow ESA flight control teams to upload and try out new, innovative control software submitted by experimenters. In the experimental platform, the satellite will run the software experiments. One innovative concept is the deployment of space software in the form of apps. This is a new concept that ESA wants to test in space and it is different from previous ESA satellites. This concept is enabled by the NanoSat MO Framework. This app will then be uploaded to the spacecraft and started. OPS-SAT has been launched at 08:54:20 UTC on 18 December 2019 exactly twenty-four hours later than originally planned.
The Experimental Platform of OPS-SAT is where experiments will be running. It has two Critical Link MityARM 5CSX in cold redundancy. These have a Dual-core 800 MHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, an Altera Cyclone V FPGA, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, and an external mass memory device with 8 GB.
ESA's aim is to remove as many barriers to experimentation as possible. For example, there will be no paperwork, ESOC's infrastructure will be ready to do automated tests on the experiments, and aims at reducing the overheads close to zero. Additionally, the experiments can be easily developed in form of apps using the NanoSat MO Framework.
NanoSat MO Framework (NMF)
The most innovative concept in OPS-SAT is the deployment of space software in the form of apps. The European Space Agency in collaboration with Graz University of Technology investigated and developed the NanoSat MO Framework. The NanoSat MO Framework is a software framework for nanosatellites based on CCSDS Mission Operations services. It includes a Software Development Kit to develop experiments as NMF Apps which can then be installed, started, and stopped in space. The framework also includes monitoring and control capabilities for the apps which will allow experimenters from the ground to take control of their software when it is running in space. The OPS-SAT system image comes with the NanoSat MO Framework which interfaces with all of the OPS-SAT payload systems and provides it in the form of services to the experimenter application. The NanoSat MO Framework allows simple integration of other libraries and applications. During the development of the experiments, the NMF SDK can be used and it includes a simulator, providing most of the platform functionalities accessible to the experimenter. The simulator allows developers to make their NMF Apps without the need to access an advanced satellite testbed hardware platform. On the ground, EUD4MO will provide a web-based solution for the monitoring and control of NMF Apps. OPS-SAT experimenters will be able to take control using their web browser.
