Payload Configuration Graphical User Interface (GUI): Simplifying Customer Software Integration

In order to solve the problem of every new student satellite project tasking themselves with the creation of an entirely custom software system, the Phoenix architecture was born. It consists of a modular, adaptable, and hardware-independent core architecture that can be configured to fit a variety of needs and purposes. The existing system greatly reduces the amount of code that needs to be written for a potential new project: a generally error prone and time consuming process that leads to late deliveries and buggy software. This system is configurable through the addition of individual modules that serve scoped purposes and have no hard dependency on other modules. Currently, these modules have to be implemented by hand, resulting still in a fair amount of code that allows for the possibility of bugs and delays. The Payload Configuration GUI aims to further reduce this dependence. By allowing the user a graphical drag and drop interface for configuring behavior of the satellite, the code necessary to implement entire modules can be automatically generated. The primary goal of this software is to allow the customer of an ALL-STAR satellite to configure a module which will control their payload hardware, greatly simplifying the integration of customer and core software.