SIMNET: Leveraging COTS Plug 'n Play Electronics Protocols for Space Applications

We offer a ‘logistics-oriented’ marketing position, emphasizing mass production of satellite bus modules with rapid distribution to operational theatres. With declining costs single application satellites of short mission duration become a tactical alternative to large, multi-mission vehicles. We establish the classic ‘build or buy’ decision in the always-a-custom satellite marketplace by providing the ‘buy’ option. Modularity does provide mass production cost benefits to small satellite bus and payload. Rapid assembly and integration, and pre-staging of completed low-cost modular satellites will reduce the logistics cost of satellites to that of precision-guided munitions deployed in forward areas. Test ByPass emerges as an indispensible component of Space Plug & Play Architectures, while remote debug and diagnostics serves to extend the useful life of ‘on-orbit’ assets. The TBP Processor Element-based Application Program has access to the high-performance bus and also communicates with the IO Bus Manager supervising a SPA-U IO Bus and the several TBP Network debug Monitor programs which are resident on ASIM 8051 nodes. The TBP Applications program is generalized through a scripting language to support Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulation (HILS), Diagnostics, Debug/Monitor, Performance Monitoring and Serial Bootloader Applications.