Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SOPHOS (Smart on-board processing for earth observation systems)
Période du rapport: 2022-11-01 au 2024-04-30
Thousands of satellites are currently orbiting Earth with hundreds of new satellites being launched into space every year. The amount of data generated by earth observation applications, such as optical sensors or Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), is ever growing. Due to the limiting factor of downlink availability, there is high demand for better on-board data processing and storage.
SOPHOS will design and implement enabling technology for high-end data products produced on-board spacecraft via the implementation of more power efficient high performance space processing chains for various Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) missions, with a focus on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which is one of the most data intensive space applications currently used.
This implementation will be achieved through the optimization of the payload processing and data storage system accompanied by the use of COTS components and the miniaturization of high-performance hardware in combination with robust firmware and software with heritage in high-end space applications.
SOPHOS will combine state-of-the-art industrial computing technologies (COTS) including high-end FPGAs and GPU equipped SoCs, along with advanced and scalable processing capabilities.
The modules developed within SOPHOS will allow for higher data product performance in small and nanosatellite platforms, with the ability to deliver more data from data-intensive applications including SAR earth observation.
SOPHOS will design and implement enabling technology for high-end data products produced on-board spacecraft via the implementation of more power efficient high performance space processing chains for various Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) missions, with a focus on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which is one of the most data intensive space applications currently used.
This implementation will be achieved through the optimization of the payload processing and data storage system accompanied by the use of COTS components and the miniaturization of high-performance hardware in combination with robust firmware and software with heritage in high-end space applications.
SOPHOS will combine state-of-the-art industrial computing technologies (COTS) including high-end FPGAs and GPU equipped SoCs, along with advanced and scalable processing capabilities.
The modules developed within SOPHOS will allow for higher data product performance in small and nanosatellite platforms, with the ability to deliver more data from data-intensive applications including SAR earth observation.
In the first half of the project, the main achievements are the definition of the use cases and the subsequent requirements for the hardware and software that are derived from these use cases. Based on these requirements, a system architecture for the demonstrator was developed. This includes the architecture and specifications for the payload processing module and Mass Memory Module, alongside the corresponding EGSE that will comprise the full demonstration system. The inter-module interfaces and concept of operations have been defined and serve as the baseline for further design efforts. The Algorithms which will run on-board the Payload Processing Module to demonstrate the performance of the system for the SAR application use cases have been developed as prototypes and are undergoing testing and optimization. The design and manufacturing of the PPM has been completed, the MMM is undergoing finalization of the layout and will be manufactured in the upcoming months.
The requirements defined in accordance to the use cases surpass the current state of the art in terms of data rate and computational performance. The final performance results will be evaluated in the demonstration in the third year of the project.