SciSys has developed the onboard application software for CryoSat, part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) pioneering Living Planet Programme. CryoSat is a three-year radar mission, scheduled for launch in the summer of 2005. By measuring variations in the thickness of continental ice sheets and marine ice cover, the mission will provide scientists with critical data to test climate change predictions.
The onboard software plays a vital role in this mission as it's responsible for controlling CryoSat's precise orbit and attitude as well as handling all of its communications with the ground segment. A team of SciSys engineers have been working very closely with the satellite prime contractor, EADS Astrium, based in Germany.
Experience gained from the CryoSat mission is being re-used in similar missions. SciSys has been selected to develop the on-board application software for the new Earth Explorer satellites, Aeolus and SMOS, which will study environmental conditions around the globe.
SciSys has been involved throughout all the stages of this development, from the initial software architecture and definition of the requirements, through integration of the software on-site with the processor hardware supplier in Italy, to supporting system level testing. This has required a willingness to learn about the overall spacecraft and its specific subsystems, and to be an active part of the team, providing solutions rather than just reporting problems.
