We are currently creating a real-time data acquisition Bench Checkout Equipment (BCE) system to support the Geoscience Laser Altimeter Satellite (GLAS) for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.

The BCE will interface with the GLAS spacecraft during all ground integration and testing activities. The BCE needs to acquire instrument performance data and distribute over TCP/IP in real-time, and archive historical performance data. In addition, the BCE will stimulate the instrument directly via optical and electrical simulation of on-orbit conditions the spacecraft will encounter. All test and measurement equipment (Tektronix Arbitrary Waveform Generators and High Speed Digitizing Oscilloscopes, Stanford Research Systems Digital Delay Generators and Time Interval Counters, and Hewlett-Packard Function Generators) is controlled by National Instruments' LabView 5.0 running on high-speed Windows NT machines.

GPS, Inc. is creating instrument drivers, test sequence scripts, and TCP/IP interface communication software for the various components of the BCE. In addition, we will provide on-site testing support during integration and test of the GLAS spacecraft.

Contact us if you have a real-world hardware application you'd like to automate!

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Last revised January 1, 1999