Motorola Software Engineering Sophistication Receives Nod from United Space Alliance and NASA
Flight crews on board future Space Shuttle missions will have
quicker and easier access to information and data that is crucial to
critical decision-making.
Motorola Wednesday announced that United Space
Alliance, LLC (USA), has awarded to the company a $5 million contract
to support development of cockpit avionics software design
requirements for the upgrade of the Space Shuttle Orbiter.
Options are valued at approximately $30 million. Motorola’s
placement on the software team of the most capable and reliable
spacecraft in the world is viewed as a major affirmation of the
maturity of Motorola’s software management and execution skills.
Developed by USA for the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, the
Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU) will be designed to improve the flight
crew’s insight and understanding of the Space Shuttle Orbiter’s health
and status during operations and improve the content and quality of
control mechanisms available to the crew.
“The Command and Display Processor (CDP) software upgrade looks to
maximize the flight crew’s situational awareness of the Shuttle’s
operations,” said Jim Eyman, USA vice president and program manager
for shuttle upgrades development.
“It is also being designed to reduce the workload of the crew,
eliminating the need for them to wade through less critical
information that is typically displayed in the cockpit. Instead, the
software will allow the crew to view what is important during critical
points in a mission.”
Smarter software that is more user-friendly and better equipped to
pinpoint the status of mission critical operations for government and
industry requires highly-specialized software engineering and
management skills.
“Our software engineering organizations have demonstrated
efficiency in software development to the Software Engineer Institute
(SEI), a research center of the Department of Defense (DOD), at a very
high maturity level.
“We are fully committed to using our competency in streamlining
the work process in the development of this sophisticated software for
USA and for NASA,” said Mark Fried, corporate vice president and
general manager of Motorola’s Integrated Information Systems Group.
Thousands of advances in technology and enhanced designs that have
been incorporated into the Space Shuttle since it was first launched
20 years ago have made it a safer, more powerful and more efficient
spacecraft today. Further improvements planned during the next five
years are anticipated to make it even safer.
Among them is a next-generation “smart cockpit” that is expected
to reduce the pilot’s workload in an emergency, allowing the crew to
better focus on critical tasks.
The Shuttle fleet has over 75 percent of its operational life
ahead of it, and is expected to fly into the next decade, continuing
to assemble and support the International Space Station (ISS) as well
as conduct research missions. Motorola also provided the critical
communications equipment for the ISS.
Upgrades to the Space Shuttle that combine the newest technology
with the most dependable and proven technology benefit the entire
program by improving safety and reliability, reducing operating costs,
enhancing performance, and testing new technologies.
About Motorola
Motorola Inc. is a global leader in providing integrated
communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. These
include software-enhanced wireless telephone, two-way radio, messaging
and satellite communications products and systems, as well as
networking and Internet-access products, for consumers, network
operators, and commercial, government and industrial customers.
Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion.
Motorola and the Motorola logo are registered trademarks of
Motorola Inc.,®Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. All other companies and
products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders
