NASA Study Explores the Benefits of Static Analysis
NASA Study Explores the Benefits of Static Analysis
Customer success: real results with AdaCore technologies
Customer
NASA operates a complex satellite telecommunications network that links low earth orbiting spacecraft with ground stations. Human spaceflight, space science, and earth science missions depend on the network to provide launch support, on-orbit communications, and tracking services. This critical national resource is in operation 24x7, 365 days a year, and must provide continuous uninterrupted service. Consequently, NASA is continually exploring ways to improve hardware and software reliability for this mission-critical system.
Challenge
TDRSS ground stations are controlled by over eight million lines of software. Any time a code change is made, even a bug fix, there is a risk of introducing new defects. Measured over a six year period, 27% of lost network service time with the control of the Space Network was the result of software defects. In reality, it is impossible for NASA to thoroughly test such a large volume of code.
Solution
Looking for ways to improve software quality, NASA explored the use of source code analysis tools for mission critical software. CodeSonar® was chosen for the pilot study.
Results and Benefits
It is clear that the greatest benefit derived from using CodeSonar is the reduced risk of serious incidents. NASA’s analysis of the return on investment was a useful exercise, and proved that the savings in operational costs alone justify the cost of CodeSonar. NASA concluded its analysis with the recommendation that any organization that depends on internally maintained software for mission critical functions should strongly consider adopting static analysis as part of its product lifecycle.
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