Title :
On-Board Partial Run-Time Reconfiguration for Pico-Satellite Constellations
Author :
Vladimirova, Tanya ; Wu, Xiaofeng
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. Eng., Surrey Univ.
Abstract :
Distributed satellite systems are considered a promising new direction in spacecraft architecture design. Pico-satellite constellations flying in low Earth orbit (LEO) could become an efficient and low-cost solution to Earth observation and remote sensing in the future. There is a pressing need for condition-based maintenance, self-repair and upgrade capabilities on-board satellites in order to enable future space applications. In this paper we present a methodology for onboard partial run-time reconfiguration to enable onboard system-level functional changes ensuring correct operation, longer life and higher quality of service. The technique of partial run-time reconfiguration is introduced and a remote reconfiguration methodology is described. The architecture of an FPGA-based reconfigurable SoC design for on-board computing is outlined. A case study, which demonstrates the feasibility of the approach, is presented
Keywords :
aerospace computing; artificial satellites; field programmable gate arrays; logic design; reconfigurable architectures; system-on-chip; Earth observation; FPGA-based reconfigurable SoC design; distributed satellite system; low Earth orbit; on-board computing; on-board partial run-time reconfiguration; onboard system-level functional change; pico-satellite constellation; quality of service; remote reconfiguration; remote sensing; spacecraft architecture design; Aerospace electronics; Computer architecture; Field programmable gate arrays; Hardware; Low earth orbit satellites; Pressing; Remote sensing; Runtime; Space vehicles; System-on-a-chip;
Conference_Titel :
Adaptive Hardware and Systems, 2006. AHS 2006. First NASA/ESA Conference on
Conference_Location :
Istanbul
Print_ISBN :
0-7695-2614-4
DOI :
10.1109/AHS.2006.54
