FAPEC, a versatile and efficient data compressor for space missions

ABSTRACT Fully Adaptive Prediction Error Coder (FAPEC) is a data compressor which offers good compression ratios even when data is severely affected by noise and outliers. This, combined with its high computing performance, makes it suitable for space applications. It is based on a variety of pre-processing stages followed by an outlier-resilient adaptive entropy coder. Sample sizes of 8–24 bits are supported. Pre-processing stages range from simple delta algorithms (with interleaving, lossy, and filtering options) to more complex discrete wavelet transform and Hierarchical Pixel Averaging image algorithms (with or without losses, for single or multiple bands). A quick prediction-based lossless multi-band algorithm is also available, as well as lightweight dictionary-like pattern recognition. Thus, one can have functionalities equivalent to those of Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) 121.0, 122.x, and 123.x in a single system, as well as some features not supported yet by any recommendation. Here, we describe the main features of FAPEC and the results obtained on a variety of data, comparing compression ratios and speeds against CCSDS standards.