Catalysing Next Generation Solutions with Scalable Model-Based Software

Small satellite missions increasingly rely on software-defined payloads, onboard data processing, and automated mission operations, to meet performance, responsiveness, and cost constraints. In practice, payload software development, integration and test (I&T) and operations are often supported by fragmented toolchains spanning flight, ground, and payload domains, leading to duplicated effort, reduced reusability and increased operational risk.

This presentation introduces HELIX® Edge and HELIX Appkit, software technologies designed to provide a coherent, model-driven payload software architecture, spanning onboard, ground and edge processing environments.

HELIX Edge is a configurable payload software platform for modern payload computers, providing standardised platform–payload interfaces, secure telemetry and telecommand routing, data and file handling, scheduling, automation, and health monitoring. Payload processes execute within a service-oriented framework, optionally containerised, enabling mission-specific functionality to be integrated without re-architecting the underlying flight software. Shared system models and mission database generation support consistent payload I&T, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and early validation of operational concepts.

HELIX Appkit provides a development environment for portable payload and mission applications that can be deployed onboard the spacecraft, within ground systems, or at distributed edge nodes using a common service model. This enables reuse of autonomy logic, data processing pipelines, and operational behaviours across deployment contexts while maintaining consistent interfaces to flight and mission operations software.

The presentation will illustrate applications to Earth Observation missions using on-board event detection and selective downlink, communications payloads implementing adaptive routing and protocol handling, and hosted payload architectures requiring isolation and coordinated operations on shared platforms. The focus is on how integrated software architectures support scalable autonomy, reduce I&T effort, and improve operational robustness for future small satellite missions.