User-initiated software application deployment to an orbital satellite platform

• US 9,875,091 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2017
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Vector Launch, Inc.
• Inventors: Coleman, Shaun, Garber, Darren D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Aponte, Francisco
• Application Number:
  US15/638,837
• Time in Patent Office: 207 Days
• Field of Search: 717121, 717168-178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

Systems, methods, and software described herein provide enhancements for deploying software applications in satellites. In one example, a control system may receive user input indicative of deployment requirements for a software application, and identify an availability of resources present in a plurality of satellites deployed as an orbiting satellite platform. The control system further determines deployment options for deployment of the software application based on the deployment requirements and the availability of resources in the plurality of satellites, and provides the deployment options for the software application via a user interface for deployment of the software application onto the orbiting satellite platform.

Claims

1. A method of providing software application deployments to an orbital satellite platform, the method comprising:

receiving user input indicative of deployment requirements for hosting a software application by the orbital satellite platform, wherein the orbital satellite platform includes a plurality of in orbit satellites;

identifying an availability of resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites to support deployment of the software application;

determining deployment options for deployment of the software application based at least on the deployment requirements and the availability of resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites; and

providing the deployment options via a user interface for user-initiated deployment of the software application onto one or more of the plurality of in orbit satellites.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the deployment requirements comprise at least geographic areas of interest, operation times of interest, and sensor requirements.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the availability of resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites comprises identifying a presence of at least virtualized execution resources and sensor resources across the plurality of in orbit satellites.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the deployment options comprises providing at least a first deployment option for deploying the software application to the plurality of in orbit satellites, and a second deployment option for deploying the software application to at least one further satellite not yet deployed into the orbital satellite platform in addition to at least, one of the plurality of in orbit satellites.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

in the user interface, receiving a user selection of the first deployment option; and

in response to the user selection, deploying the software application to one or more satellites in the plurality of in orbit satellites, wherein the software application executes as a virtual node on virtualized execution systems of the one or more satellites.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

in the user interface, receiving a user selection of the second deployment option; and

in response to the user selection, identifying a configuration for the at least one further satellite not yet deployed into the orbital satellite platform.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein identifying the configuration for the at least one further satellite comprises receiving second user input indicative of hardware requirements for the at least further satellite.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the deployment options for deployment of the software application based on the deployment requirements and the availability of resources comprises:

determining whether each deployment requirement of the deployment requirements can be accommodated by the plurality of in orbit satellites based on the availability of resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites;

based at least on each deployment requirement being able to be accommodated, identifying in the user interface a deployment option indicating that the deployment requirements can be accommodated via the plurality of in orbit satellites;

in the user interface, receiving a user selection of the first deployment option; and

in response to the user selection, deploying the software application to one or more satellites in the plurality of in orbit satellites, wherein the software application executes as a virtual node on virtualized execution systems of the one or more satellites.

9. A computer apparatus comprising:

one or computer readable storage media;

a processing system operatively couple with the one or more computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media to manage software application deployments to an orbital satellite platform that, when read and executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least;

receive user input indicative of deployment requirements for hosting a software application by the orbital satellite platform, wherein the orbital satellite platform includes a plurality of in orbit satellites;

identify an availability of resources present in a plurality of in orbit satellites of the orbital satellite platform to support, deployment of the software application;

determine deployment options for deployment of the software application based at least on the deployment requirements and the availability of resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites; and

provide the deployment options via a user interface for user-initiated deployment of the software application onto one or more of the plurality of in orbit satellites.

10. The computer apparatus of claim 9 wherein the deployment requirements comprise at least geographic areas of interest, operation times of interest, and sensor requirements.

11. The computer apparatus of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to identify the availability of resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites direct the processing system to identify an availability of at least virtualized execution resources and sensor resources present across the plurality of in orbit satellites.

12. The computer apparatus of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to provide the deployment options direct the processing system to provide at least a first deployment option for deploying the software application to the plurality of in orbit satellites, and a second deployment option for deploying the software application to at least one further satellite not yet deployed into the orbital satellite platform in addition to at least one of the plurality of in orbit satellites.

13. The computer apparatus of claim 12, wherein the program instructions further direct the processing system to:

receive a user selection of the first deployment option; and

in response to the user selection, deploying the software application to one or more satellites in the plurality of in orbit satellites, wherein the software application executes as a virtual node on virtualized execution systems of the one or more satellites.

14. The computer apparatus of claim 12 wherein the program instructions further direct the processing system to:

receive a user selection of the second deployment option; and

in response to the user selection, identify a configuration for the at least one further satellite not yet deployed into the orbital satellite platform.

15. The computer apparatus of claim 14 wherein the program instructions to identify the configuration for the at least one further satellite direct the processing system to identify second user input indicative of hardware requirements for the at least one further satellite.

16. The computer apparatus of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to determine the deployment options for deployment of the software application based on the deployment requirements and the availability of resources direct the processing system to:

determine whether each deployment requirement of the deployment requirements can be accommodated by the plurality of in orbit satellites based on the availability of resources in the plurality of in orbit satellites;

based at least on each deployment requirement being able to be accommodated, presenting in the user interface a first deployment option indicating that the deployment requirements can be accommodated via the plurality of in orbit satellites;

receive a user selection of the first deployment option; and

in response to the user selection, deploy the software application to one or more satellites in the plurality of in orbit satellites, wherein the software application executes as a virtual node on virtualized execution systems of the one or more satellites.

17. The computer apparatus of claim 9 wherein the program instructions further direct the processing system to:

identify a budget requirement received via the user interface for the software application; and

determine the deployment options for deployment of the software application based at least on the deployment requirements and the availability of resources in the plurality of in orbit satellites direct the processing system to determine the deployment options for deployment of the software application based on the budget requirement, deployment requirements, and the availability of resources in the plurality of in orbit satellites.

18. An apparatus comprising:

one or computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media to manage software application deployments to an orbital satellite platform that, when read and executed by a processing system, direct the processing system to at least;

receive user input indicative of deployment requirements for a software application to be deployed onto the orbital satellite platform comprising a plurality of in orbit satellites, wherein the software application comprises one or more functions for monitoring ground-based activity using sensor resources provided by the satellite platform;

identify an availability of at least the sensor resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites to support the one or more functions for in orbit monitoring of the ground-based activity;

determine deployment options for deployment of the software application onto the satellite platform to achieve the one or more functions, wherein the one or more deployment options are determined based at least on the deployment requirements and the availability of the sensor resources present in the plurality of in orbit satellites to monitor the ground-based activity; and

based at least on the availability indicating sensor resources provided by the satellite platform being able to achieve all the deployment requirements, provide for presentation to a user at least a first deployment option for deploying the software application to at least one of the plurality of in orbit satellites to achieve the deployment requirements.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the deployment requirements comprise at least geographic areas of interest for monitoring the ground-based activity using the sensor resources provided by the satellite platform, operation times of interest to monitor the ground-based activity, and sensor requirements to monitor the ground-based activity.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the program instructions further direct the processing system to:

identify a budget requirement received via the user input; and

determine the deployment options for deployment based at least on the budget requirement, deployment requirements, and the availability of in orbit sensor resources.