Cubesat Framework

 

Cubesats are allowing students and engineers to build low cost satellites that encourage them to test out new techniques and technologies at a lower risk than a multi-million dollar satellite.  Beningo Engineerings experience in developing flight software for Cubesats have led the way to the development of a Cubesat software framework designed to speed up development, decrease costs and ensure that software onboard the spacecraft operates as robustly as possible.  While each Cubesat offers its own unique challenges, Beningo Engineering provides a variety of software stacks to ensure that the developers are focused on these unique challenges rather than on common design challenges.  Beningo Engineering supports a wide range of processing platforms with common API’s so that application code written for one platform is easily reused on another.  Each framework is written to the strictest programming standards, ensuring that they will behave not only while on the ground but also in flight.

 

The software components are designed to provide an easily configurable interface for control of low level device peripherals which builds upon Beningo Engineerings experience in developing flight software.  The driver framework provides access to common peripherals such as digital input/output, serial communication, SPI, I2C, flash, timer, analog to digital converter, dac, usb and much more.  The framework is provided with a cooperative scheduler and detailed example applications code on how to configure and use the drivers allowing the processor to be up and running in a matter of hour instead of weeks or months.

 

The driver framework is based on a common set of API’s which allows middleware and application software to be written once and reused from one satellite application to the next.  Beningo Engineering is currently offering a number of middleware components that will ease satellite software development by providing components such as command scheduling and handling, boot-loading of the system, sub-system to suby-system communications, radio communications and much more.

 

Each framework component is written to the strictest programming standards by complying with the MISRA-C in addition to having static code analysis performed on every component.  Thus ensuring that each component will behave not only while on the ground but also in flight.  The framework components are heavily documented in addition to providing real world application examples.  The framework components also can be used not only for development but also as a great examples of how to write embedded software.

 

A few example software stacks can be found below:

• MSP430 Driver Framework
• PIC24 Driver Framework
• C2000 Driver Framework
• Command Scheduling
• SD Card File System
• Boot-loading
• UHF and S-Band Radio Applications

 

For pricing, delivery and ordering information contact us at Beningo Engineering.