AdaCore has a long history of providing tools and expertise to the Space industry, helping developers build mission critical applications that extend to the farthest reaches of human exploration.
Space technology is the backbone of modern digital life, helping us to communicate, find our way, monitor the Earth for changes in climate, and literally go where no man has gone before. Still, millions of dollars are spent developing space and satellite projects, and, in most cases, you only get one shot for this kind of application to work, so it is critical to produce safe and totally reliable software.
AdaCore has years of experience working with Space customers and has a deep understanding of the software standards involved and the tools and services needed to ease the workflow and manage costs.
Tools, Runtime Libraries and Qualification Materials
AdaCore tools can be used to meet verification objectives including coding standard compliance, code accuracy (prevention of errors such as buffer overrun, integer overflow, and references to uninitialized variables), and structural coverage analysis up to MC/DC. Specialized high-assurance run-time libraries, including one that implements the Ravenscar tasking profile, are simple enough to be included in qualified systems but expressive enough to support the needed functionality for hard real-time space software. Qualification material for the run-time libraries can be developed for the ECSS standard and adapted to new project contexts.
Sustained Branches
Maintaining qualified software brings unique challenges, since the customer needs to "freeze" on a specific version of the technology for stability, but still might require updated releases if a problem is encountered as the software evolves. AdaCore provides GNAT Pro Assurance subscription which includes a special "sustained branch" service, that supports this requirement
Our Experience with Qualification for Space
AdaCore has extensive experience helping our aerospace customers meet the European Space standards ECSS-E-ST-40C and ECSS-Q-ST-80C. AdaCore has already qualified several versions of the run-time libraries.
ECSS-E-ST-40C and ECSS-Q-ST-80C
The European Cooperation for Space Standardization is an initiative established to develop a coherent, single set of user-friendly standards for use in all European space activities. ECSS-E-ST-40C and ECSS-Q-ST-80C are the software-related standards for use in all European space projects and applications.
Customer Projects: Space
LASP
Raising the Reliability of Scientific Space Exploration
How Ada is helping the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics minimize risk, reduce cost, and assure reliable control of software used for spacecraft and instrument operations.
Masten Space Systems
How Masten Space Systems is Using Ada and SPARK to Land on the Moon’s South Pole
To develop their mission-critical flight control software, Masten chose the Ada and SPARK programming languages, together with AdaCore’s GNAT Pro integrated development environment and the SPARK Pro static analysis tool suite for their XL-1 Lunar Lander. The lander will transport a suite of scientific research payloads to the lunar south pole.
SEAKR
How to Develop Reliable Spacecraft Systems at Lower Cost with the Ada Programming Language
When SEAKR Engineering decided to upgrade its mission-critical data recorder applications to a new hardware platform, they kept their software in Ada. To help them improve the efficiency and reliability of their Ada code, they upgraded their development environment to GNAT Pro.
AVIO
AVIO Selects AdaCore’s GNAT Pro Assurance Toolsuite for European Space Agency Program
AVIO has selected the GNAT Pro Assurance Ada Development Environment, including the GNATemulator host-based target emulation tool, to implement the on-board software for AVIO’s Vega-C launch vehicle. Sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA), this safety-critical hard real-time embedded system is the flight software that handles guidance, navigation and control for the Vega-C.
GNAT Pro Assurance
GNAT Pro Assurance includes a specialized service known as sustained branches, which allows a project to continue its use of a specific version of the technology, including upgrades to repair critical issues. It supports all versions of the Ada language standard (from Ada 83 to Ada 2012), and C support is an optional add-on. A full toolsuite is supplied, as well as a configurable run-time library and several specific run-times that are especially suited to high-assurance systems.
SPARK Pro
SPARK Pro is a language and toolset specifically designed for developing applications where correct operation is vital for safety or security. The SPARK Pro toolset offers static verification that is unrivalled in terms of its soundness, low false-alarm rate, depth and efficiency. The toolset generates evidence for correctness that can be used to meet the requirements of safety and security certification schemes.
GNAT Static Analysis Suite
The GNAT Static Analysis Suite helps developers achieve clean, secure, high-quality Ada code. It allows developers to automatically scan for a number of known security vulnerabilities, allowing you to concentrate manual code review of the most complex problems.
GNAT Dynamic Analysis Suite
The GNAT Dynamic Analysis Suite provides developers with a set of powerful analysis and coverage tools for Ada. Available as an add-on to GNAT Pro Enterprise and Assurance subscriptions, the toolsuite can be used with all versions of the Ada language standard, as well as the formally analyzable SPARK Ada subset.