RTOS ensures spacecraft system reliability

Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) tested and proved many of the development and integration efforts of Lockheed Martin and its suppliers. The data from this test flight will progress Orion into the next phase of development and testing, and eventually manned missions in deep space. Orion’s flight computers, based on utilisation of the Green Hills Software INTEGRITY-178 RTOS, were among the systems that supported the success of this test flight.

“During all phases of the Orion spacecraft’s flight we depend on the flight computers to monitor and control the spacecraft and ensure mission success,” said Brian Cuthbert, Orion Software Director, Lockheed Martin. “This reliability is fully complemented by the Green Hills real-time operating system that resides in the flight computer modules. Green Hills INTEGRITY-178 provides our flight software engineers with the flexibility required to host and integrate the necessary applications; and the product’s FAA pedigree provides the safety confidence required for Orion’s future manned flights.”

“The Green Hills INTEGRITY-178 real-time operating system and the proven reliability it provides is the ideal fit for the Orion’s flight computer,” said Dan O'Dowd, Founder and CEO, Green Hills Software. “All systems with real-time performance requirements that are coupled with demands for the highest safety and/or security assurance requirements should consider using INTEGRITY-178 as a true economic solution for overall successful deployment. Green Hills Software is pleased that Lockheed Martin successfully achieved this on the Orion spacecraft.”