Flight Instrument Station Processor
Dewesoft Software was used for the flight instrumentation station processor on the past space mission and selected in
April 2015 for the mission set to launch 2018. The crew module is being developed by American space station for the future of manned space exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit.
Dewesoft supported the agency’s first Experimental Flight Test of the Module. In the module development and test phase Dewesoft was used for laboratory real-time, post-test and post mission of Developmental Flight Instrumentation (DFI) telemetry data. This data is currently being reviewed by agency engineers and scientists to continue the development towards the next unmanned test launch of the rocket on agency’s Launch System rocket. Dewesoft played a critical role in acquiring and analysing data in what could only be described as a text book test flight. The first mission was the first space test flight of the new multipurpose exploration module. The mission was a four-hour, two-orbit test of the crew module featuring a high apogee on the second orbit and concluding with a high-energy re-entry at around 20,000 miles per hour (32,000 km/h; 8,900 m/s). This mission was designed to validate flight control systems and heat shield integrity at re-entry conditions.
No special hardware was required for this mission. Using standard computers running Dewesoft X1 with
the Chapter 10 Plugin, PCM Plugin and NET Option, engineers were able to capture and analyze all data
required. Dewesoft was setup to receive Chapter10 data from Ethernet and recorded data files. The Chapter 10
source contained 6 PCM streams which were decommutated on a single computer. Dewesoft in post
flight testing was looking at over 2,000 parameters being processed from a single measurement unit.
During the build up of the crew module, Dewesoft performed outstandingly processing Telemetry data. Then after the flight portion of the mission, provided post analysis processing of the DFI Mission Data.
After the Module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean flight engineers downloaded the DFI Telemetry data while the module waited for the US Navy to retrieve it. This Telemetry data was then de-commutated at multiple sites; American global aerospace company in Denver, CO along with at space center in Florida. The flexibility and ease of use of the software was able to eliminate many manhours and ultimately save the agency expenses.