Written by Ramon Roche, Dronecode Foundation General Manager and member of Space Grade Linux
The ELISA Project hosted an in-person workshop at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, from December 10 to 12, 2024. This event marked the launch of Space Grade Linux, a Special Interest Group (SIG) aiming to address the unique challenges of deploying Linux in space environments. We are happy to share we had a very successful workshop with more than 30 in-person and 40 virtual attendees, with the majority finding the workshop highly educational and relevant.
The workshop brought together experts from various organizations in person and virtual, including ELISA Project member companies such as Red Hat, and Bosch, as well as representatives from NASA, Wind River, TelePIX, the Linux Foundation and more. This diverse group of professionals engaged in discussions and presentations on advancing Linux systems for space-grade applications. We want to extend our gratitude to the 20 speakers responsible for the 18 sessions in total during the two days of the event.
The workshop featured a series of sessions including:
- Space Grade Linux Introduction: Michael Monaghan from NASA provided an overview of the Space Grade Linux initiative, outlining its objectives and significance.
- Lessons from Automotive Grade Linux: Walt Miner of the Linux Foundation shared experiences from the automotive industry that could be applied to space-grade Linux development.
- Verification and Validation of the OS and Certification Package: Scott Tashakkor from NASA discussed methods for ensuring the reliability and safety of operating systems in space applications.
- Containerization in Space: Douglas Schilling Landgraf and Dan Walsh of Red Hat demonstrated the use of Podman for mission-critical operations, emphasizing resilience and efficiency.
Notes from TSC Chair
Philipp Ahmann, Sr. OSS Community Manager at ETAS GmbH and Chair of the ELISA Project Technical Steering Committee, offers insight:
A recurring theme throughout the workshop was the importance of collaboration and open-source principles in addressing the complexities of space-grade software. The round table discussions were especially enlightening, revealing key takeaways from the participants:
- Requirement Management: The volume of NASA software requirements presents a significant challenge in the usage of Open Source Software. The community emphasized the need for clear, concise, and easily accessible best practices and requirements for space applications. New, open-source processes for demonstrating compliance with these requirements were also discussed and will be a major topic for ELISA in 2025.
- Long-Term Sustainability: Maintaining systems over extended periods, sometimes spanning decades, is a critical challenge in space. Creative solutions for software updates and long-term support are essential, especially in light of missions that outlive their initial planned lifespan.
- Leveraging Existing Tools and Hardware: The workshop highlighted the value of utilizing readily available emulation like QEMU and hardware like Raspberry Pi for development and testing. This approach lowers the barrier to entry for academia and other organizations interested in contributing to SGL.
- Collaboration and Community Building: Bringing together space vendors and fostering a strong community around SGL is crucial for its continued development. The workshop itself served as a testament to the power of collaboration, with experts from various backgrounds sharing their knowledge and insights.
- Demonstrating Value and Addressing Concerns: While the potential of Linux in space is evident, there’s a need to convincingly demonstrate its capabilities, especially in areas like real-time performance. Building a strong evidence base through research papers and practical demonstrations is key to wider adoption.
Testimonials from the Community
- 37% of attendees are ready to roll up their sleeves and help define the project.
- 57% think the content was exceptional and would recommend our next events to a friend or colleague.
“I attended the SGL Workshop at NASA Goddard Space Center, and was quite happy to exchange information between Space professionals and Linux professionals. NASA was a great host, giving us a tour of facilities, with a particular focus on the ongoing Hubble Space Telescope hardware, and the upcoming Roman space telescope project. Learning about the hardware NASA uses, and plans to use, the challenges imposed by the space environment, and the constraints and requirements placed on hardware and software for space vehicles and missions, was extremely useful. I look forward to continuing productive discussions and work as Linux and other open source is adapted and utilized in the space sector. — Tim Bird, Principal Software Engineer, Sony
Access to Materials
For those interested in the workshop’s content, video recordings of the talks are available at the ELISA Project’s YouTube channel as a playlist:
Presentation materials and further details about the sessions can be found on the ELISA Project’s directory:
We hope you can join us on the next one!
Meanwhile, be sure to subscribe to the SGL SIG mailing list and to join the public calls. The successful collaboration between ELISA and Space community members at this workshop signifies a significant step forward in developing robust, reliable Linux systems for space exploration.
The formation of the Space Grade Linux SIG is expected to foster an ecosystem of supported platforms and a collaborative community dedicated to advancing Linux in space-grade applications.
Want to know more about SGL?
Make sure you browse through the ELISA website. There, you can find information on all the project initiatives and how to contribute to the wider adoption of open source for safety-critical systems. Click here for more details about SGL.
Stay tuned by subscribing to the ELISA Project newsletter or connect with us on LinkedIn or subscribe to the mailing lists to talk with community and TSC members.
