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(/offices/oce/documents/index.html) NASA Study on Flight Software
Complexity
In 2007 the NASA Office of Chief Engineer commissioned a
Related Topics
multi-Center study of the growth in flight software size and
complexity in NASA space missions. The study was
All Topics A-Z (/topics) motivated by problems attributed to flight software in a
variety of missions - in pre-launch activities and mission
operations - and concerns that such problems were growing
with the expanding role of flight software.

While advances in computer hardware have readily

accommodated this expansion by providing faster
processors and increased memory, it is believed that
software engineering and management approaches have
not kept pace. Problems with flight software have serious
technical, operations, and management implications for

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2/28/2020 Technical Excellence Initiative | NASA

space flight missions.

The study was chartered to bring forth technical and

managerial strategies to address risks associated with the
growth in size and complexity of flight software in NASA's
space missions. The study addresses many motivating
questions, such as:

How big is flight software and how fast is it growing?

What are the causes of growth?
Is there unnecessary growth and how can it be
curtailed?
Why is fault protection software so difficult?
When growth is necessary, what are effective
strategies for dealing with it?
How can we ensure adequate testing of complex flight
systems?

The study was directed to examine four areas of special

interest:

Provide a clear exposé of the growth in NASA flight

software size and complexity. Describe long-term
trends, how the trade space has changed, root
causes, problems encountered, benefits gained, and
lessons learned.
How can unnecessary growth in complexity be
curtailed? How can necessary growth in complexity be
better engineered and managed? Are there effective
strategies to make smart trades in selecting and
rejecting requirements for inclusion in flight software to
keep systems lean? When growth in complexity and
software size are necessary, what are the successful
strategies for effectively dealing with it?
Fault protection logic accounts for a sizable portion of
flight system software - Are there techniques that
effectively manage the complexity of fault protection
systems?
Investigate the challenge of testing complex logic for
appropriate safety and fault protection provisions.
Recent mission delays and the loss of a key
spacecraft have been attributed to inadequate testing
of complex flight software systems. How can this
situation be prevented in the future?

+ Download the NASA Study on Flight Software

Complexity
(/sites/default/files/418878main_FSWC_Final_Report.pdf)
(PDF)

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