High-Quality Software Models of the Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope

2. Background And Challenges

NASA’s spacecraft operate across the solar system performing a wide range of missions, including planetary surface exploration using rovers, planetary observation using orbiters, and solar and astronomical observations using observing platforms at a variety of locations. As this fleet continues to expand in both number and complexity, there is a pressing need for increasing the role that on-board spacecraft software plays in controlling those spacecraft. This will relieve the growing burden levied on Earth-based ground control, and alleviate the bottleneck of communication back to earth. Furthermore, increased autonomy on the spacecraft themselves will enhance their capabilities – responding autonomously to investigate interesting but short-lived phenomena, increasing the capabilities of surface rovers to traverse terrain and to perform more intricate science experiments, etc. This all requires more sophisticated software in the spacecraft/rover itself. Without some change in the software development process, such more complex software systems will take longer to develop and verify, potentially increasing overall mission cost, introducing delays, and potentially introducing additional risk. Model based design is being investigated as a means to improve the development process for spacecraft software so as to help overcome some of these problems. The work reported here describes ongoing use of model-based design in a spacecraft setting, and the particular areas of benefit it conveys. Because of the risk-averse nature required of the development of NASA’s spacecraft (in most cases well beyond reach of rescue or repair), ensuring the quality of the software remains of paramount importance. Also reported here is how software assurance techniques are being adapted to work with model-based design. One of the important synergies between model based design and software assurance is the opportunity to detect an increased fraction of software related defects earlier in the development process than would otherwise be the case, thus leading to net savings of cost and schedule, while ensuring quality.