International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1993 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes the recently developed Loral Instrumentation ground-based
equipment used to select and process post-flight test data from the Boeing 777
airplane as it is played back from a digital tape recorder (e.g., the Ampex DCRSi II) at
very high speeds. Gigabytes (GB) of data, stored on recorder cassettes in the Boeing
777 during flight testing, are played back on the ground at a 15-30 MB/sec rate into
ten multiplexed Loral Instrumentation System 500 Model 550s for high-speed
decoding, processing, time correlation, and subsequent storage or distribution. The
ten Loral 550s are multiplexed for independent data path processing from ten separate
tape sources simultaneously. This system features a parallel multiplexed configuration
that allows Boeing to perform critical 777 flight test processing at unprecedented
speeds. Boeing calls this system the Parallel Multiplexed Processing Data (PMPD)
System.
The key advantage of the ground station's design is that Boeing engineers can add
their own application-specific control and setup software. The Loral 550 VMEbus
allows Boeing to add VME modules when needed, ensuring system growth with the
addition of other LI-developed products, Boeing-developed products or purchased
VME modules. With hundreds of third-party VME modules available, system
expansion is unlimited. The final system has the capability to input data at 15 MB/sec. The present aggregate
throughput capability of all ten 24-bit Decoders is 150 MB/sec from ten separate tape
sources. A 24-bit Decoder was designed to support the 30 MB/sec DCRSi III so that
the system can eventually support a total aggregate throughput of 300 MB/sec.
Clearly, such high data selection, rejection, and processing will significantly
accelerate flight certification and production testing of today's state-of-the-art aircraft.
This system was supplied with low level software interfaces such that the customer
would develop their own applications specific code and displays. The Loral 550 lends
itself to this kind of applications due to its VME chassis, VxWorks operating system
and the modularity of the software.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/608878 |
| Date | 10 1900 |
| Creators | Cardinal, Robert W. |
| Contributors | Loral Instrumentation |
| Publisher | International Foundation for Telemetering |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Proceedings |
| Rights | Copyright © International Foundation for Telemetering |
| Relation | http://www.telemetry.org/ |
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