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Open Source Satellite Control
Debra writes "Have you ever wondered how you harness a satellite control system written in three languages, on four development platforms, and deployed to multiple client environments? With open source, naturally. When one wrong move can cost millions, you must rely on teamwork, smart design, and open standards to keep the project -- if not the satellite -- from going down in flames. This article covers software engineering basics, taking advantage of outside solutions, and scripting multi-million-dollar manuvers."
Open source software is plenty stable -- when it's mature. But, when "one wrong move can cost you millions", can you afford a kernel oops because someone forgot a \n?
See, in this case, the nice part about commercial software is that you have someone to blame, and you at least stand a chance in court (IANAL, but it would be under contract law), so you have an opportunity to recoup your losses. In this case, an "oh yeah, fixed in CVS" isn't good enough.
Nobody EVER gets any money from software vendors in lawsuits, contract or EULA. By spreading that myth, you perpetuate the "stupid consumer" model of software.
I don't know how you grew up, but I've always been taught "Buyer beware" is the the best model, and the most aware buyer is one who can intelligently check out the product he/she is buying.
If I was paying somebody for a service, I'd want to at least be able to satisfy my own curiosity about how well it works, at least so that I'll sign off on the check. I would want to know, ESPECIALLY if it was controlling my precious satelite.
In fact, I'd BET that for commercial satelites, the people funding any launch have teams of outsiders checking the code.
I could also imagine that at NASA, there is a mixture of vendor written and in-house written.
But don't fall for the "who ya gonna sue" stupidity......there's nobody, they're already gone.
It's not just the government funded agencies or commercial satellite companies that use command and control systems. There are many amateur high altitude ballonists that need a way to send commands and receive data from payloads attached to balloons. Here in Colorado, Edge of Space Sciences is a group of enthusiasts that launch and recover high altitude balloons with a variety of payloads. They are always looking for volunteers to help with launch and recovery. There are similar groups thoughout the U.S.