On-Board Computer for CubeSats: State-of-the-Art and Future Trends

Abstract

Over the past three decades, the acceptance of higher risk thresholds within the space industryhas facilitated the widespread integration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components into avionics andpayloads, leading to a remarkable transformation in the design of space missions. This transformation hasled to the emergence of the New Space Economy and the widespread adoption of lean or small satellitesin general, particularly CubeSats. CubeSats are now widely used in commercial, scientific, and researchapplications due to their versatility, affordability, simplicity of development, and accelerated developmenttimelines. On-board computing plays a crucial role in the design of CubeSat missions, as increasinglyhigh-performance computational requirements are needed to meet the challenges of future missions. Thispaper systematically reviews the state-of-the-art of CubeSat Command and Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem,covering both hardware components and flight software (FSW) development frameworks. It presentsan analysis of the key features and recent developments of on-board computers (OBCs) in commercialand academic institutional projects funded by governments, agencies and public institutions. It furtherexamines the effects of space radiation on avionics components and discusses the main fault-tolerancetechniques used in CubeSat platforms. Finally, this paper highlights trends and hazards for future CubeSatavionics and identify potential directions for future developments in high-performance on-board computing.By synthesizing contemporary research and industry insights, this paper aims to shed light on CubeSat OBCdesign, providing an overview of the existing technology landscape and the challenges to be addressed fornext-generation mission needs.