TXMission Releases New Open Smallsat Communications Protocol

TXMission Releases New Open Smallsat Communications Protocol

August 30, 2019

TXMission has created a new communications protocol for controlling all aspects of smallsat operation. Provisionally named the ‘One and Only Protocol for Smallsats! (OOPS!)’ it eliminates notable deficiencies in existing space protocols by addressing the unique requirements of the New Space industry, which continues to undergo an unprecedented revolution in technology. Specifically, it promotes interoperability between different subsystems and different vendors, with the objective that CubeSat technology will finally become plug and play at the protocol level.

Following its initial development, OOPS! is now being freely offered to the space community as the basis for an open standard. It is anticipated that it will continue to be developed under the auspices of either an open industry forum or an existing standards body.

The scope of OOPS! is to control and monitor all onboard subsystems and the ground-segment equipment counterparts that are required to implement an end-to-end smallsat communications system. It therefore covers both uplink and downlink, housekeeping data, telemetry data and other requirements. It is suitable for a wide range of applications, including earth observation, telecoms, IOT and 5G.

Much of the value of OOPS! lies in the fact that it is a lightweight protocol that is intuitive to use, easy to implement and readily extensible. TXMission is happy to hear from anyone that wants to work with us or has suggestions for furthering interoperability in space.

The protocol documentation can be found here.