In recent decades, the focus of space missions has shifted from scientific research to commercial and defense applications servicing the needs of the modern industrial and information society. New projects range from small satellites to entire satellite constellations that facilitate communications, transmit television broadcasts, enable navigation for transport or logistics applications, and provide images and data for weather forecasts, climate research, reconnaissance, and spatial planning via Earth observation, for example. Future topics include space tourism, the first manned flight to Mars, and the first base on the Moon to facilitate future space missions, thus continuously pushing the final frontier of humankind.
Challenges
Successful space flight requires mastering a wide range of advanced technologies and their application in an extremely hostile environment. First, launch vehicles are key to every mission’s success because they deliver the payload safely into space. Hence, precise thruster control is required to maintain the rocket’s desired trajectory, for example. In addition, spacecraft require multiple control systems such as attitude and orbit control systems (AOCS) to ensure their correct position and orientation in space. Various sensors and actuators are used to achieve this goal, e.g., star sensors, gyroscopes, reaction wheels, or control thrusters. Moreover, there are systems for power supply, data transmission, and communication, to name but a few. All these systems must meet the highest requirements in terms of reliability, because in the event of a failure, repair in space is very difficult, if even possible at all. Therefore, the right set of test equipment and tools is required to minimize those operational risks while meeting cost targets in an increasingly competitive environment.
Our Solutions for Space Flight
dSPACE offers a wide range of systems and tools to help you meet the challenges of developing launch vehicles and spacecraft. Whether you need a platform for function development or for testing your hardware, dSPACE has the right solution for your requirements to significantly reduce development time and costs. This has been proven in many space projects where dSPACE systems have already been used as part of the Special Check-Out Equipment (SCOE) to test functionalities crucial for mission success.
Rapid Prototyping
HIL Testing
Central Test Method for Validating ECUs
The dSPACE HIL test systems provide a simulated environment for efficient and reproducible validation of real ECUs in the laboratory 24/7. This increases test coverage and shortens validation times significantly. Our HIL solutions cover all vehicle domains from autonomous driving to zero emissions – starting with component testing and up to virtual vehicle testing.
SIL Testing
Software-in-the loop (SIL) testing with the powerful dSPACE solution for PC- and cloud-based simulation
With the dSPACE solution for software-in-the loop (SIL) testing, you can significantly accelerate your software development process by testing and validating virtually. dSPACE offers you a complete, modular, scalable development and test solution. You can conveniently simulate a device-under-test on a PC, connect it to physics-based models, run scalable tests in the cloud, and then easily reuse test scripts on hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems.
Bus & Network Communication
Test Data Management
Data Management and Collaboration Software for Automated ECU Testing
SYNECT, our solution for the efficient and automated verification and validation of ECU software, helps engineers worldwide handle all test parameters, their dependencies, versions and variants, and the underlying requirements throughout the entire development process.
This results in consistent data versions and complete traceability as required in homologation processes, and an efficient reuse of data in other projects.
Production Software Development
Optimized Production Software Development
The central challenges in production software development include the optimization of RAM resources, run time, and integration into the overall system. Furthermore, it must be possible to split the software in such a way that regular software updates are possible. And before the final software release, special validation and often a release process are required.
Development support from start to finish
Developing complex E/E systems and software with ever more safety-critical functions, especially in the area of autonomous systems, raises the question of guaranteeing function reliability. That's why dSPACE offers end-to-end expertise in functional safety, test strategy development as well as verification and validation in complex E/E processes - to support you from the earliest project stages to homologation.
dSPACE systems are easy to get up and running – however, if a project is more complex, if individual solutions are needed or if there is high time pressure, you can also trust dSPACE's fast, competent and reliable engineering services.
