EuroSim Applications - Virtual Spacecraft Reference Facility simulator

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Virtual Spacecraft Reference Facility simulator

Objective
The VSRF simulator has been build in 2006 and implements the Eagle Eye demonstration mission. It is used to demonstrate that a simulation framework can grow to be used from the early system delevopment cycles up to the system verifications possibly involving hardware. The VSRF simulator can operate in two modes:

Distributed -- The AOCS and SVF software run as a separate instance, external to the other models;
Stand-alone -- The AOCS software runs with all other model software integrated in the simulator.

The EuroSim models are generated from the SimuLink models used in the Avionics Functional Simulation. In both modes, the VSRF simulator can be connected to an image generation system (Open-IGS) to provide real-time images of the running simulation. The IGS uses the External Simulator Access interface of EuroSim to receive the data required to produce the images.

Context
The VSRF objectives are to use a system and mission simulation early during the design phases, in order to validate performance and robustness of the design and support trade-off analysis at system level. In such a way industrial proposals and project reviews can be supported more efficiently and the engineering design margins can be assessed realistically and optimised. The VSRF simulation evolves to support verification tasks, e.g. software verification and AIT activities involving hardware-in-the-loop configurations to test EM or FM components. The VSRF objective is to provide a generic architecture to build a virtual representation of the spacecraft in support of space system design and verification activities. By virtual representation it is understood a functional simulation at system level that can evolve from phase B (and even phase A) to phase E supporting the system engineering activities (e.g. system design definition and validation, system end-to-end qualification tests, system AIT and operations preparation). The VSRF architecture shall also allow a more representative “validation in context” of the components of the various simulated or real hardware models.