A real time UML modeling for satellite on board software

Abstract

This paper describes the use of UML to aid developing real time on-board software for satellites, as a safety-critical system. In order to expedite development, an Integrated-Computer Aided Software Engineering-Environment (I-CASE-E) tailored for real time applications is used. To keep the approach general, the Satellite under consideration has a 3-axis stabilized bus with a generic payload. The I-CASE-E allows for model execution where one can find problems and issues that whiteboarding and document reviews are unable to find. Moreover, an incremental development can be effectively attained even in high-level architectural models. Major expected findings are higher quality software and more predictable delivery cycles.