Press Releases
Critical Software adapts the operating system of ESA’s Herschel and Planck satellites
Portuguese participation in the more complex missions of the European Space Agency
15 May 2009
The Herschel and Planck Satellites, that were considered the more complex missions of the European Space Agency, will be launched tomorrow, 14th of May. Critical Software was engaged to integrate the European industrial consortium in order to tailor and qualify the operating system running on the computers of those satellites.
Critical Software was engaged by the European industrial consortium, led by Thales Alenia Space, to support the software development for the Herschel/Planck missions. These spacecrafts were developed in parallel and share the same type of computer and platform. Their Operating System, the basic software that controls the most vital hardware subsystems and the computer itself, is based in a Real Time Operative System that Critical tailored and qualified for these specific missions.(Photos: here and here ).
"Herschel and Planck are probably the most complex missions ever developed by the European Space Agency. Critical Software was called in at a difficult stage of the developments, and to perform a complex task, as the available computer resources were found not to be enough to support the all operating system. Critical was able to refurbish the system so it would fit the constraints and do so in a very tight schedule. This task highlighted Critical Software capabilities and know-how on Mission Critical systems.", states Bruno Carvalho, Industry Specialist for the Space market.
These satellites represent an impressive set of achievements by European technology. Both of them will have to face a four-month journey, approximately 1.5 million km away from Earth. The Herschel Space Observatory is the largest ever infrared space observatory. The spacecraft is approximately 7.5 metres high and 4 × 4 metres in overall cross section, with a launch mass of around 3.4 tonnes. Equipped with a 3.5 metre diameter reflecting telescope and instruments cooled to close to absolute zero, Herschel will observe at wavelengths that have never previously been explored. ESA named its new infrared space telescope after Frederick William Herschel, a renowned astronomer and discoverer of the infrared light.
The Planck mission will collect and characterise radiation from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the first light released after the Big Bang which was considered the fossil radiation of the Universe, using sensitive radio receivers operating at extremely low temperatures. The Planck spacecraft is 4.2 metres high and has a maximum diameter of 4.2 metres, with a launch mass of around 1.9 tonnes. It was named by ESA after Max Planck, who is considered to be the founder of the quantum theory, and one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century.
ABOUT CRITICAL SOFTWARE
Critical is a leading provider of solutions, services and technologies for mission and business critical information systems. From offices in Portugal, USA, UK, Romania and Brazil our global market focus and multinational culture have taken us to penetrate in markets around the globe, enabled us to adapt to the most demanding contexts and made it possible to better understand customer needs and business requirements. Working within a diverse array of sectors we deliver high-quality, expert staff who help our customers achieve and sustain success in all their IT ventures. Time and again, our customers value our honesty, in-depth knowledge and partnership approach, which together ensure excellent results. Being vendor-independent, enables us to accurately select and recommend the most suitable and costeffective third-party technologies to each customer specific requirements. The company operates a quality management system certified to CMMI® Level3, ISO 9001:2000 Tick-IT, ISO 15504, NATO AQAP 150, AQAP 2120 and EN9100.
