Cyber-Physical Challenges for Space Systems

Modern space systems necessarily have a tight coupling between onboard cyber (processing, communication) and physical (sensing, actuation) elements to survive the harsh extraterrestrial environment and successfully complete ambitious missions. This article first summarizes space exploration missions and existing platforms that to-date have been developed by ad hoc, one-of-a-kind cyber-physical integration efforts. The primary goal of this paper is to present a series of cyber-physical systems (CPS) challenges that, if addressed in the emerging science of CPS, will greatly facilitate complex space systems development in the future. Areas of focus include spacecraft communications, driven by relative orbiting network node positions as well as bandwidth and power considerations, attitude control and orbit determination, and space robotics and science payload systems. A strong CPS challenge problem is introduced: scheduling the instructions executed on a small spacecraft processor such that the magnetic field introduced by this processor induces torques favorable for spacecraft pointing.