“From the early planning stages of a mission, our software team helps define the capabilities of the spacecraft,” said Dan Silverman, director of software engineering at Millennium Space Systems. “We design our software to enable the sensors, actuators and payloads on our small sats to achieve their mission.”

Millennium’s flight and ground software are now tried-and-true technologies, operating missions across low-Earth, medium-Earth and geosynchronous orbits.

“We are very adept at reusing our repository of proven software and adapting it to new missions – allowing us to quickly and cheaply build flight software for each new spacecraft,” said Silverman. “And we are continuously refactoring our code and improving our software. We’re always doing new things to push the boundaries of what software can do while on orbit.”

Operating software in space isn’t like running it on a desktop computer. Extreme space weather can induce “bit flips” – caused by tiny particles that come in contact with a satellite’s electronics, altering its memory.

“We must ensure our satellites are not only controllable but can be debugged from the ground, said Silverman.”

This is what the Millennium team does as part of a rigorous in-house testing process. Engineers use emulators to test out the software and simulate the space environment.

“Like quality assurance testing in a videogame, we exercise the software in the same way we would use it in space,” said Silverman. “We perform close-looped tests and try out ground commands. We make sure that what we expect to happen happens.”

After developing, testing and integrating the software onto the satellite, engineers relish in what comes next – launch.

“It’s difficult to articulate how awesome it is to watch a launch and know your work is riding on it,” said Lee Wixtrom, senior spacecraft software engineer at Millennium Space Systems. “It goes from an abstract concept to fully-developed software to actually running in space.”

And, once the satellite reaches orbit, engineers shift focus to operating the software in space.

“It’s amazing to talk to your software when it is in space,” said Silverman. “It’s one of the most awesome things about Millennium – seeing your code in action. At other companies, developers are out of the loop after they finish coding.”

Millennium software engineers come from a range of specialties and industries, including aerospace and defense and industrial control systems. But two commercial technologies stand out: robotics and autonomous vehicles.

“A spacecraft is like a robot in space,” said Wixtrom. “Engineers working in robotics or in autonomous vehicles, which might even use the same processors as our satellites, would feel right at home programming at Millennium. Really, anyone who’s excited at the prospect of working on a spacecraft should come join us.”

‍