Presented at iCubeSat 2017 - The 6th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop, 30 - 31 May 2017- https://icubesat.org/papers/2017-2/2017-b-3-4-microservices-architecture-for-cubesat-mission-control-systems

1. Microservices architecture for
CubeSat mission control systems
Umesh Anilchandra Bhat, Gregor Eesmaa, Laura Ruusmann
Tõnis Kasekamp, Vadym Ponomarov
ESTCube, Estonia
iCubeSat 2017, Cambridge, United Kingdom 30-31 May 2017

2. ESTCube-2
31 May, 2017 Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017 2
Launch: 2019 Q1-Q2*

3. Mission Control System - Overall
31 May, 2017 3Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
MCS
Ground Station
Ground Station
Ground Station
Operator(s)

4. ESTCube-2 Team - Structure
31 May, 2017 4Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
SYS AOCS EPS
COM OBCS CAM
ST STR MCS*
MCS – Mission Control System

5. ESTCube-2 MCS - Role
31 May, 2017 5Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Extension of the ground station
• Track and maintain communication
• Control and exchange information

6. ESTCube-2 MCS - Team
31 May, 2017 6Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• 10+ passionate students
• Following industry best practices
• Work-in-progress since 2016

7. Monoliths
31 May, 2017 7Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017

8. ESTCube-2 MCS - Vision
31 May, 2017 8Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Fault-tolerant, Scalable and Secure
• Upgradable, Migration-friendly
• Easy for newcomers to adopt

9. ESTCube-2 MCS - Challenges
31 May, 2017 9Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Coordination
• Heterogenous
• Automation
• Deduplication
• Processing

10. ESTCube-2 MCS - Architecture
31 May, 2017 10Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Microservices architecture
• 50+ independent applications
• Powered by

11. Containers
31 May, 2017 11Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Operating-system-level virtualization
• 1 container = 1 application
• 1 application does 1 job!

12. Containers versus Virtual Machines
31 May, 2017 12Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017

13. Containers - Health
31 May, 2017 13Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017

14. Containers - Scaling
31 May, 2017 14Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017

15. Version 1.0
Containers - Versioning
31 May, 2017 15Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
Version 1.5

16. • Scale horizontally across hosts
• Self-healing systems
• Powered by
Containers - Scalability
31 May, 2017 16Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017

17. Containers – Pros and Cons
31 May, 2017 17Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Lightweight
• Resource Utilisation
• Build Once, Run Anywhere
• Security
• Complicated if not
done properly

18. ESTCube-2 MCS – Hardware Test Platform
31 May, 2017 18Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
HWT – Hardware Test Platform
MCS
Operator(s)
System under test
Spacecraft in orbit
TTCN-3 based HWT powered by

19. ESTCube-2 MCS – Model Based SE*
31 May, 2017 19Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
MBSE – Model-Based Systems Engineering
• Predicting behaviour over time
• Models and simulation integration
• Dynamic nature of missions

20. ESTCube-2 MCS – Contact Terminal*
31 May, 2017 20Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
CT – Command Terminal
• Quicker than “clicking/tapping”
• Scripting capabilities

21. ESTCube-2 MCS – Ground Station Beacon*
31 May, 2017 21Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
GSB – Ground Station Beacon
Ground Station
Ground Station
Ground Station
MCS
Operator(s)

22. ESTCube-2 MCS – Knowledge Base *
31 May, 2017 22Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
KB – Knowledge Base
KB

23. ESTCube-2 MCS – Contact Automation*
31 May, 2017 23Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
CA – Contact Automation
• Make the operator’s life easier
• Auto re-scheduling of packets
• Dynamic queue assignment

24. • Quick add/remove scientific libraries
• Better collaboration
• Highly scalable
ESTCube-2 MCS – Data Processing Platform*
31 May, 2017 24Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
DPP – Data Processing Platform

25. ESTCube-2 MCS – Adaptation
31 May, 2017 25Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017

26. ESTCube-2 MCS – Offering
31 May, 2017 26Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• MCS As A Service (MCSaaS)
• Partnerships(Operations and Resources)

27. Takeaway
31 May, 2017 27Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
• Make everything modular
• Think scalability
• Think interoperability

28. 31 May, 2017 28Microservices architecture for CubeSat mission control systems - iCubeSat 2017
Aitäh!
(Thank you in Estonian)