Process migration within a satellite constellation

Large constellations of satellites are just now beginning to be placed into operational service. These constellations require large amounts of ground resources and time to control and maintain. Many of the new constellations will include satellites that will communicate with each other through inter-satellite crosslink systems and that have reprogrammable processors on-board. The introduction of a process migration capability into such a constellation would enhance the effectiveness of the entire constellation. This would be accomplished by allowing the satellites to run more processes than would be available if all software needed to be included on all spacecraft. This work developed a method for establishing two features of a process migration facility for a satellite constellation. A resident facility was developed that supports the insertion, extraction and control of migrant processes for a satellite control processor. This work also developed the structural framework for the migrant processes. The method and structures were integrated with the control processor software for the GPS IIR spacecraft. Subsequent testing confirmed that the required elements of the migration facility could be integrated into the real time processing system of the spacecraft. Execution of the modified flight software under simulated operational conditions confirmed that the new features operated properly and did not interfere with existing vehicle capability.