Press Release

Ecliptic’s RocketCam Digital Video Systems Built With INTEGRITY

By SpaceRef Editor
January 27, 2009
Filed under , ,

Key Element of NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Capsule Test Program

NCW 2009, Booth #1 — Green Hills Software, Inc., the world leader in secure operating systems, today announced that Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation is using Green Hills Software’s INTEGRITY(R) real-time operating system in Ecliptic’s next-generation RocketCam(TM) Digital Video System (DVS).

INTEGRITY manages all DVS command and telemetry functions as well as demanding, real-time video processing tasks in a rugged environment. The INTEGRITY-based RocketCam DVS is being successfully applied in NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle capsule Pad Abort Test program, employing high-speed digital video cameras to capture onboard video of Orion’s parachute deployments during each test flight. This test program is being managed by NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California.

“INTEGRITY is a proven product with a strong customer base, giving us the confidence to implement our desired capabilities on a low-risk path. We also selected INTEGRITY for its proven robustness, scalability, and functionality,” said Rex Ridenoure, Chief Executive Officer, Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation. “The successful completion of our DVS product upgrade using INTEGRITY has generated expanded business opportunities for our DVS technology.”

“Green Hills Software’s Platform for Avionics is the industry choice for the most demanding safety and security critical electronics applications — where human life must be protected,” commented David Kleidermacher, Chief Technology Officer, Green Hills Software. “We are pleased that Ecliptic has put its trust in Green Hills Software to help realize the vision of next-generation space exploration.”

About the Ecliptic RocketCam(TM) Digital Video System

RocketCam DVS consists of imaging sensors connected to a Digital Video Controller (DVC). The DVC provides power and power control, supports stored and event-driven DVS sequencing, controls all sensors, ingests and manipulates their output data streams and affiliated engineering data, and compresses, stores and outputs these data to the host platform or directly to a transmitter for downlinking to end users. RocketCam is used to:

— Observe staging and propulsion events
— Observe spacecraft separation, deployments and operations events
— Characterize operational environments
— Support anomaly investigations and failure reviews
— Support other engineering and project outreach objectives

About the Green Hills Platform for Avionics

The Platform for Avionics includes the INTEGRITY and INTEGRITY-178B RTOSes, a complete toolset for safety-critical software development, support for the aviation industry standard ARINC-653 application software interfaces, and the documentation and services required for U.S. FAA DO-178B Level A safety certification. The INTEGRITY RTOS’s partitioning features allow developers to deploy multiple applications on a single processor, at potentially multiple safety certification levels. This powerful capability enables developers to reduce the number of on-board computers needed to support multiple software systems. Furthermore, the Platform for Avionics with INTEGRITY-178B is the only safety-critical RTOS certified for multiple languages, including Ada, C, and Embedded C++, allowing developers to choose the language and kernel best suited to meet their development needs. Green Hills Software is the most widely deployed safety-critical commercial real-time operating system solution, powering avionics systems such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and flight controls for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

About Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation

Ecliptic is the world’s leading supplier of onboard video systems — its RocketCam(TM) product family — for use with rockets and spacecraft. Ecliptic enjoys a strong customer base in commercial, civil and defense markets. RocketCam fans should expect to see on average one launch every month or so for the next several years. The privately held firm’s core competencies include space systems engineering, aerospace avionics, instrument systems and aerospace test equipment. Ecliptic’s technical staff has a broad range of direct experience on over 100 space missions. Ecliptic has offices in Pasadena and Moffett Field, California. See more at www.eclipticenterprises.com.

About Green Hills Software

Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software, Inc. is the technology leader in device software optimization (DSO) and real-time operating systems (RTOS) for 32- and 64-bit embedded systems. Our royalty-free INTEGRITY(R) and velOSity(TM) real-time operating systems, u-velOSity(TM) microkernel, IPv6-ready TCP/IP networking stacks, GateD(R) Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing, compilers, MULTI(R) and AdaMULTI(TM) integrated development environments, DoubleCheck(TM) integrated static analyzer and TimeMachine(TM) tool suite offer a complete development solution that addresses both deeply embedded and high-reliability applications. Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Visit Green Hills Software on the web at www.ghs.com.

RocketCam(TM) is a trademark of Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation.

Green Hills, the Green Hills logo, MULTI, INTEGRITY, velOSity, u-velOSity, AdaMULTI, DoubleCheck and TimeMachine, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Green Hills Software, Inc. in the U.S. and/or internationally. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:

Contact:
Green Hills Software, Inc.
Barbel French
805-965-6044
bfrench@ghs.com

SpaceRef staff editor.