OCI Technologies Selected For New DARPA Satellite Program

ST. LOUIS, MO - The OCI supported open source, real time middleware technologies have been selected for DARPA’s (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) new satellite system. OCI is now under contract and is amongst the team members developing the highly innovative F6 Micro Satellite System Communications Framework. F6 stands for Future, Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying Spacecraft United by Information Exchange.

This initial design and development phase is for a 12 month period with a subsequent one year option for transitioning and supporting the technology into the NASA Ames Space Systems Simulation labs. There the technologies will be proven for the rigors of spaceflight. The OCI supported technologies include OpenDDS, TAO (The ACE ORB) and ACE (ADAPTIVE Communications Environment.)

In contrast to current larger and expensive satellites, F6 will develop and demonstrate the basic building blocks of a totally new space architecture, in which traditional singular (and vulnerable), integrated satellites are replaced by clusters of up to twenty smaller and cheaper wirelessly interconnected space modules that form a "virtual" satellite. These satellites will fly in formation in low earth orbit and will back each other up as they perform their missions. Software for space missions has more demanding requirements and OCI will be ensuring ACE, TAO, and OpenDDS meet the new safety critical, small memory needs. OCI will be adding new capabilities which could have applications elsewhere, such as wirelessly connected unmanned autonomous systems.

Dr. Ebrahim Moshiri, CEO of OCI, expressed his satisfaction at this award:  "With this project our team will be taking our distributed systems expertise into a new challenging arena of delay-tolerant, wirelessly connected, real-time systems."

For more information on how OCI engineers can solve your complex data distribution problems, contact us.