Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Facility at Fairmont, West Virginia, working through the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) of Greenbelt, Maryland, have announced the signing of a Space Act Agreement effort to advance the state of the art in mission as well as safety-critical software that will be used for sending SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX was selected by NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop and demonstrate vehicles, systems, and operations needed to perform space flight demonstrations. These also include rendezvous and berthing with ISS. SpaceX is teaming with NASA’s IV&V/GSFC facility to enhance confidence in mission- and safety-critical software elements. Specifically, NASA’s IV&V Facility will provide an additional layer of assessment and mission assurance, including a full analysis of the system software for a SpaceX-developed UHF communications unit. The system provides low-cost, high reliability space-to-space communications directly between Dragon and ISS. The Dragon spacecraft also uses NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the Iridium commercial satellite telephone system for maximum flexibility and performance. The IV&V effort will be funded by SpaceX and will benefit SpaceX and NASA by providing assurance that the cargo- and crew-carrying Dragon spacecraft will perform as expected under a wide range of scenarios. This agreement is to be executed in three phases, with the first two phases worth nearly $500,000—Hawthorne, California
Dragon, ISS, SpaceX + NASA To Provide For One Another
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Facility at Fairmont, West Virginia, working through the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) of Greenbelt, Maryland, have announced the signing of a Space Act Agreement effort to advance the state of the art in mission as well as safety-critical software that will be used for sending SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX was selected by NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop and demonstrate vehicles, systems, and operations needed to perform space flight demonstrations. These also include rendezvous and berthing with ISS. SpaceX is teaming with NASA’s IV&V/GSFC facility to enhance confidence in mission- and safety-critical software elements. Specifically, NASA’s IV&V Facility will provide an additional layer of assessment and mission assurance, including a full analysis of the system software for a SpaceX-developed UHF communications unit. The system provides low-cost, high reliability space-to-space communications directly between Dragon and ISS. The Dragon spacecraft also uses NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the Iridium commercial satellite telephone system for maximum flexibility and performance. The IV&V effort will be funded by SpaceX and will benefit SpaceX and NASA by providing assurance that the cargo- and crew-carrying Dragon spacecraft will perform as expected under a wide range of scenarios. This agreement is to be executed in three phases, with the first two phases worth nearly $500,000—Hawthorne, California
