TacSat-2/TIE Payload Development: Enabling Rapid Development and Testing of Space Payload Hardware and Software

The launch of the Tactical Satellite-2 (TacSat-2) carrying the Navy’s Target Indicator Experiment (TIE) payload has provided the first opportunity to test some of the constructs used in its development, and that of its predecessor, TacSat-1 Flying the TIE payload for the past eleven months has demonstrated, and validated, the approaches taken, proving that flexibility, extensibility, and software portability can decrease development time, increase the leveraging of existing tools, and help control software development costs. However, our experience has shown that this flexibility can create challenges in managing day-to-day payload operations