Feature article: Firmware updating systems for nanosatellites

During the course of a space mission unexpected events can occur regardless of rigorous testing. In order to ensure the ability of a spacecraft to recover and adapt to new situations, it may be necessary to update the firmware for resolving the software issues, work around hardware problems, or introduce new features. The importance of remote firmware updates as well as a method to calculate an indicative value of flexibility in space missions is summarized by R. Nilchiani [1].

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