Embedded Linux in Space!
summary
Panelists report concrete facts: over 50% of cubesats run Linux, JPL’s 6U Asteria (2017) and Mars Ingenuity reuse the F Prime flight‑software framework, and companies run thousands of Linux instances in LEO. Tradeoffs include radiation and a 500‑bit‑per‑second telemetry example, COTS versus rad‑hard parts, and fault‑tolerant designs using multiple Linux processors or lockstep microcontrollers. Ongoing work targets certification (DO‑178 levels) and preempt_rt for provable timing, with Python and AI stacks already flying on mission payloads.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Linux in space introduction
- 2:09Space projects overview
- 8:10Linux space challenges
- 13:07Linux vs alternatives
- 17:25Real-time Linux limits
- 23:13Linux dev cost/time
- 25:47Linux certification hurdles
- 29:39Questions from the audience
- 30:00COTS hardware in space
- 36:02Fault tolerance in space
- 37:09Hard real-time Linux feedback
- 38:32GPL impact on space
- 40:26Closing remarks
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