International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1998 / Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / A real-time telemetry simulator of the IUS spacecraft has recently entered operation to train Flight Control Teams for the 1aunch of the AXAF telescope from the Shuttle. The simulator has proven to be a successful higher fidelity implementation of its predecessor, while affirming the rapid development methodology used in its design. Although composed of COTS hardware and software, the system simulates the full breadth of the mission: Launch, Pre-Deployment-Checkout, Burn Sequence, and AXAF/IUS separation. Realism is increased through patching the system into the operations facility to simulate IUS telemetry, Shuttle telemetry, and the Tracking Station link (commands and status message).

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1988 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The explosive use and extensive development of software and hardware for the IBM PC and PC Clones over the past few years has positioned the PC as one of many viable alternatives to system designers configuring systems for both data acquisition and data analysis. Hardware abounds for capturing signals to be digitized and analyzed by software developed for the PC. Communication software has improved to where system developers can easily link instrumentation devices together to form integrated test environments for analyzing and displaying data. Telemetry systems, notable those developed for lab calibration and ground station environments, are one of many applications which can profit from the rapid development of data acquisition techniques for the PC. Recently developed for the ADS100A telemetry processor is a data acquisition module which allows the system to be linked into the PC world. The MUX-I/O module was designed to allow the PC access to telemetry data acquired through the ADS 100A, as well as provide a method by which data can be input into the telemetry environment from a host PC or equivalent RS-232 or GPIB interface. Signals captured and digitized by the ADS100A can be passed on to the PC for further processing and/or report generation. Providing interfaces of this form to the PC greatly enhances the functionality and scope of the abilities already provided by the ADS100A as one of the major front-end processors used in telemetry processing today. The MUX-I/O module helps "bridge the gap" between telemetry and the PC in an ever increasing demand for improving the quantity and quality of processing power required by today's telemetry environment. This paper focuses on two distinct topics, how to transfer data to and from the PC and what off-the-shelf software is available to provide communication links and analysis of incoming data. Major areas of discussion will include software protocols, pre vs post processing, static vs dynamic processing environments, and discussion of the major data analysis and acquisition packages available for the PC today, such as DaDisp and Lotus Measure, which aid the system designer in analyzing and displaying telemetry data. Novel applications of the telemetry to PC link will be discussed.

The rising cost of military aircraft has driven the DoD to increase the utilization of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components in new acquisitions. Despite several demonstrated advantages of COTS-based systems, challenges relating to obsolescence arise when attempting to design and sustain such systems using traditional acquisition processes. This research addresses these challenges through the creation of an Agile Systems Engineering framework that is specifically aimed at COTS-based systems. This framework, known as the Cyber-physical Acquisition Strategy for COTS-based Agility-Driven Engineering (CASCADE), amends the traditional systems engineering process through the addition of an "identification phase" during which requirements are balanced against the capabilities of commercially-available components. The CASCADE framework motivates the creation of a new Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation which enables the creation of optimum obsolescence mitigation plans. Using this CASCADE MILP formulation, two sets of experiments are carried out: First, verification experiments demonstrate that the CASCADE MILP conforms to expected trends and agrees with existing results. Next, the CASCADE MILP is applied to a representative set of COTS-based systems in order to determine the appropriate level of obsolescence forecast accuracy, and to uncover new system-level cost-vs-reliability trends associated with COTS component modification.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / TSI TelSys, Inc. is in the process of developing a production level, continuously tunable satellite receiver designed to support multiple high data rate, low earth and geostationary orbit missions in the 20 Mbps to 800 Mbps composite QPSK data rate range. This paper will evaluate market demands on satellite receivers and outline receiver design technique as a solution to high rate, multi-mission support.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 30-November 02, 1995 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite was designed to operate with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) and Deep Space Network (DSN). NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Center for EUV Astrophysics have been evaluating a commercially available ground station already used for NASA's Low Earth Orbit (LEO) weather satellites. This ground station will be used in a network of unattended, autonomous ground stations for telemetry reception, processing, and routing of data over a commercial, secure data line. Plans call for EUVE to be the initial network user. This network will be designed to support many TDRSS/DSN compatible missions. It will open an era of commercial, low-cost, autonomous ground station networks. The network will be capable of supporting current and future NASA scientific missions, and NASA's LEO and geostationary weather satellites. Additionally, it could support future, commercial communication satellites in low, and possibly medium, Earth orbit. The combination of an autonomous ground station and an autonomous telemetry monitoring system will allow reduction in personnel. The EUVE Science Operations Center has already reduced console work from three shifts to one by use of autonomous telemetry monitoring software.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1994 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / The Advanced Telemetry Processing System (ATPS) is the result of a joint development project between Harris Corporation and Veda Systems, Incorporated. The mission of the development team was to produce a high-performance, cost-effective, supportable telemetry system; one that would utilize commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software, thereby eliminating costly customization typically required for range and telemetry applications. A critical element in the 'cost-effective, supportable' equation was the ability to easily incorporate system performance upgrades as well as future hardware and software technology advancements. The ATPS combines advanced hardware and software technology that includes a high-speed, top-down data management environment; a mature man-machine interface; a B1-level Trusted operating system and network; and stringent real-time multiprocessing capabilities into a single, fully integrated, 'open' platform. In addition, the system incorporates a unique direct memory transfer feature that allows incoming data to pass directly into local memory space where it can be displayed and analyzed, thereby reducing I/O bottleneck and freeing processors for other specialized tasks.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Within the industry, telemetry receivers are used in ground-based telemetry receiving stations to receive telemetry data from air or space-based sources. Equipment for the typical telemetry application is widely available. But when requirements create the need for a space-based telemetry receiver to uplink data from the ground, what are the choices for equipment? In such situations, adapting COTS equipment may present the only solution to meet delivery and budgetary constraints. The first part of this paper provides technical and contractual points a COTS supplier needs to consider when bidding on a COTS contract. The second part of this paper covers a project concerned with modification of a general-purpose ground telemetry receiver for use on the International Space Station. The information within the paper is useful to other engineers and companies considering contracts to modify COTS equipment for use on Shuttle or other space-based projects.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1998 / Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / Three-channel monopulse tracking receiver systems are commonly used for high performance tracking of satellites, missiles, or aircraft to maximize the reception of data. Typically, the receiver in such systems are custom designed for their end purpose. This results in a high cost to cover the development, service, and support of a highly specialized piece of equipment. This paper covers the requirements and performance of a 3-channel monopulse tracking receiver assembled from commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment. Such a system provides an option for designing or upgrading tracking stations with the lower cost, larger support base, and greater system configuration choices that are available with COTS equipment.

The Technical Testing and Analysis Center (TTAC) Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory performs electromagnetic compatibility testing on various radiation detection units. These tests require remote viewing of the equipment’s display to monitor its compliance with national and international standards. The Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) camera equipment that is used to monitor the displays exhibits radio frequency susceptibilities causing issues when determining the actual susceptibilities of the device under test. In order to mitigate this issue, a COTS camera was placed in two common test positions and cycled through three angled orientations with various radio frequency shielding methods applied. The development of these shielding methods was investigated in this thesis. The goal was to reduce the number of susceptible frequencies. The reduction of susceptibilities would greatly increase the viewing capacity of the cameras during testing. The techniques discovered have allowed for other COTS camera equipment to be modified and used effectively during electromagnetic compatibility testing.

El proceso de construir software a partir del ensamblaje e integración de soluciones de software pre-fabricadas, conocidas como componentes COTS (Comercial-Off-The-Shelf) se ha convertido en una necesidad estratégica en una amplia variedad de áreas de aplicación. En general, los componentes COTS son componentes de software que proveen una funcionalidad específica, que están disponibles en el mercado para ser adquiridos e integrados dentro de otros sistemas de software. Los beneficios potenciales de esta tecnología son principalmente la reducción de costes y el acortamiento del tiempo de desarrollo, a la vez que fomenta la calidad. Sin embargo, numerosos retos que van desde problemas técnicos y legales deben ser afrontados para adaptar las actividades tradicionales de ingeniería de software para explotar los beneficios del uso de COTS para el desarrollo de sistemas.Actualmente, existe un incrementalmente enorme mercado de componentes COTS; así, una de las actividades más críticas en el desarrollo de sistemas basados en COTS es la selección de componentes que deben ser integrados en el sistema a desarrollar. La selección está básicamente compuesta de dos procesos principales: La búsqueda de componentes candidatos en el mercado y su posterior evaluación con respecto a los requisitos del sistema. Desafortunadamente, la mayoría de los métodos existentes para seleccionar COTS, se enfocan en el proceso de evaluación, dejando de lado el problema de buscar los componentes en el mercado. La búsqueda de componentes en el mercado no es una tarea trivial, teniendo que afrontar varias características del mercado de COTS, tales como su naturaleza dispersa y siempre creciente, cambio y evolución constante; en este contexto, la obtención de información de calidad acerca de los componentes no es una tarea fácil. Como consecuencia, el proceso de selección de COTS se ve seriamente dañado. Además, las alternativas tradicionales de reuso también carecen de soluciones apropiadas para reusar componentes COTS y el conocimiento adquirido en cada proceso de selección. Esta carencia de propuestas es un problema muy serio que incrementa los riesgos de los proyectos de selección de COTS, además de hacerlos ineficientes y altamente costosos. Esta disertación presenta el método GOThIC (Goal- Oriented Taxonomy and reuse Infrastructure Construction) enfocado a la construcción de infraestructuras de reuso para facilitar la búsqueda y reuso de componentes COTS. El método está basado en el uso de objetivos para construir taxonomías abstractas, bien fundamentadas y estables para lidiar con las características del mercado de COTS. Los nodos de las taxonomías son caracterizados por objetivos, sus relaciones son declaradas como dependencias y varios artefactos son construidos y gestionados para promover la reusabilidad y lidiar con la evolución constante.El método GOThIC ha sido elaborado a través de un proceso iterativo de investigación-acción para identificar los retos reales relacionados con el proceso de búsqueda de COTS. Posteriormente, las soluciones posibles fueron evaluadas e implementadas en varios casos de estudio en el ámbito industrial y académico en diversos dominios. Los resultados más relevantes fueron registrados y articulados en el método GOThIC. La evaluación industrial preliminar del método se ha llevado a cabo en algunas compañías en Noruega. / The process of building software systems by assembling and integrating pre-packaged solutions in the form of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software components has become a strategic need in a wide variety of application areas. In general, COTS components are software components that provide a specific functionality, available in the market to be purchased, interfaced and integrated into other software systems. The potential benefits of this technology are mainly its reduced costs and shorter development time, while maintaining the quality. Nevertheless, many challenges ranging form technical to legal issues must be faced for adapting the traditional software engineering activities in order to exploit these benefits.Nowadays there is an increasingly huge marketplace of COTS components; therefore, one of the most critical activities in COTS-based development is the selection of the components to be integrated into the system under development. Selection is basically composed of two main processes, namely: searching of candidates from the marketplace and their evaluation with respect to the system requirements. Unfortunately, most of the different existing methods for COTS selection focus their efforts on evaluation, letting aside the problem of searching components in the marketplace. Searching candidate COTS is not an easy task, having to cope with some challenging marketplace characteristics related to its widespread, evolvable and growing nature; and the lack of available and well-suited information to obtain a quality-assured search. Indeed, traditional reuse approaches also lack of appropriate solutions to reuse COTS components and the knowledge gained in each selection process. This lack of proposals is a serious drawback that makes the whole selection process highly risky, and often expensive and inefficient. This dissertation introduces the GOThIC (Goal- Oriented Taxonomy and reuse Infrastructure Construction) method aimed at building a domain reuse infrastructure for facilitating COTS components searching and reuse. It is based on goal-oriented approaches for building abstract, well-founded and stable taxonomies capable of dealing with the COTS marketplace characteristics. Thus, the nodes of these taxonomies are characterized by means of goals, their relationships declared as dependencies among them and several artifacts are constructed and managed for reusability and evolution purposes. The GOThIC method has been elaborated following an iterative process based on action research premises to identify the actual challenges related to COTS components searching. Then, possible solutions were envisaged and implemented by several industrial and academic case studies in different domains. Successful results were recorded to articulate the synergic GOThIC method solution, followed by its preliminary industrial evaluation in some Norwegian companies.