Background - History for OBIF

1. Copyright@2017 - Masoud Kamali
“Weltraumkommunikationseinrichtung - 3” - continued page of1 6
Prepared by: Masoud Kamali
Commercialization of space program was top on the agenda at European Space Agency (ESA)
in the mid 80s. To become self-sustainable and profitable, ESA had to provide a means for 3rd
parties to use agency’s infrastructure and services.
….
ESA’s ambitious program included development of computing platforms for next generation
on-board systems, ground stations, data networks, and spacecrafts.
….
ESA programs were funded by member countries where each country contributed with a small
percentage of its GDP! In return for investment, member agencies and R&D institutions
could learn and bid on ESA projects.
….
Late 80s, ESA decides to pull the plug on Columbus followed by cancellation of Hermes. This
was partially due to high cost of developing these spacecrafts, and changes in geo-political
scene in Europe. ESA felt competitive disadvantage; e.g., Russian Space Agency had
announced they would be opening for commercial business.
ESA continues the Ariane program though for it has been used successfully to carry objects
deep in Space for years and this independently from other space agencies.
In 1989, ESTEC (engineering and research center of ESA) publishes a document describing a
to-be-developed system, namely OBIF or On-Board Informatic Facility. Description covers the
purpose and high-level functionality of OBIF in broad and generic terms. The requirement
specifications for OBIF read like a wish-list: for example, OBIF were to have a long lifespan
and serve humankind for decades, to span across hybrid space and ground communications
networks and computing elements, allow sharing of computing and network resources that
are on-board the orbiting systems and on earth, allow for video and audio communications
between end-users, offer extensible and adaptable architecture, …
….
TU-Wien team led by Dr. Bruckner at Softlab is busy studying CCSDS, AOS, and ITU-T
standards, RFCs, blueprints, specifications**. In a few month, this team will propose a
solution to develop a management and signaling system for OBIF that is hardware and network
independent and flexible to change. A solution that does not require software coding from
its users. After proposed solution was laid out in acceptable detail, with high level
architecture and breakdown of software and network protocols, a tender was compiled and
send to ESA.
The TU-team understood the main objective of OBIF to be an open programmable platform
with nodes and other assets in space and on earth accessible easily. Open translated to easy
for the end-user to interact with, among other.
TU-Wien team solution would allow a user to describe “entities” (or objects of interest), one
per file, and preferred ways to interact with those Entities in a new language called EDL. EDL
files were text files readable by human, they were uploaded to NM&S servers using a new
protocol.
The description files were used to create GUIs for the entity, with menus. list, entry fields,
and active button that would trigger execution of instructions, e..g, to establish

2. a video channel, or display a message on screen. Furthermore, scientists and researchers
could run tests and experiments remotely at comfort of their offices by describing their
needs!
Softlab/TU-Team developed NM&S, the software platform that managed and controlled OBIF.
And protocol stacks (e.g., PATH) that facilitated transmission of different types of data among
internal and external nodes. Their solution allowed 3rd parties to work on their pieces, e.g.,
OBIF hardware, in parallel and independently of NM&S. NM&S was an apparatus with
software building blocks that implemented methods of the apparatus. A few NM&S
components are listed:
— EDL or Entity Description Language. EDL Parser, GUI Generator, .
— Network Protocols to carry EDL and other types of payload across nodes managed by NM&S.
— Methods for network users to describe, share and present data, methods to create user
interfaces and dynamic views.
— Recommendation for domain administration and addressing
— …
See Diagrams at the end of this document for excerpts from 1990 implementation of EDL 1.0
in NM&S
…………..
Institute for Real-TIme Systems at University of Technology in Vienna in partnership with
Softlab AG (Telecom Division, Austria) responds to ESA’s invitation to tender with a proposal to
develop NM&S. Runs parallel to OBIF to manage and control it.
—————

3. SpaceBel Informatique (Belgium) and Softbab Austria (TU-Wien at SoftLab) are selected as
finalists to develop OBIF {HW, SW and NW Elements}.
1990
TU-Team at Softlab in Vienna has a functioning demo with main components: It’s
demonstrated to Dr. Bruckner. (see original diagrams and text at the tail of this document).
SoftLab/TU-Wien) demonstrates OBIF NM&S to SpaceBel Informatique in Brussels and to ESTEC
in Noordwijk
Users can communicate with OBIF via NM&S. Users write EDL files to describe layout,
presentation and content. NM&S had a full-automated process for compiling EDL description
files, generating system, network and application software components plus the graphical
user interfaces (such as forms, menus, .. for data entry and navigation). EDLs also provided a
means to describe facilities, channels, components with their properties, to interact with
them.
……
1991 (PSTN Gateways - Proxies)
While the On-Board HW was being developed, OBIF NM&S (SW Platform) was ready to be
deployed and operationalized on almost any type of network. Dr. Schultz with (ESOC -
Softlab Germany) wants a limited service/network (iDSL) trial with OBIF NM&S and OBIF
network stack serving ESOC, ESTEC and PSTN users. ESA Operations Center is willing to deploy
OBIF to open up its platform to Frame Really and PSTN subscribers!
OBIF NM&S would manage a hybrid ESOC, ESTEC, PSTN network, and provision Channels
between end-points (such as PSTN n-ISDN subscriber). OBIF would provide subscribers a
means to access ESA’s space and ground facilities and services. This would allow testing OBIF
in a real network with real users, and immediately with no need to wait for other pieces of
OBIF to be developed by other agencies and placed in space
With NM&S, ESA customers would be able to access computing resources directly from home
or office with a computer and communicate with OBIF through NM&S generated GUIs to
upload data, obtain data, etc. An IP Address and a 64Kbps+ connection line to an OBIF
Station was all was needed.
The Following Diagrams were first published in 1990 - Masoud Kamali, ESTEC - OBIF
NM&S. These are a 1993 Print Out.
ASCII files written in EDL describe the UI for Objects (Entities), Items are active pointers that take the User
from one Object (Entity) to another. An Entity is a physical, logical, or virtual object such as a Camera, a
64kbps connection, or just few lines of text.
EDL describes the Object of Interest to OBIF for Presentation & Logic.

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