CRM Newsletter
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Mid-Market CIO Panel: Tips and Techniques for Improving Vendor Relationships

July 15, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)

We'll highlight relationship priorities and best practices identified in a Council study, and we'll interact with a CIO panel on the approaches they've used to improve strategic vendor partnerships.

Secrets of Successful Vendor Contract Negotiations for the Mid-Market

Sept. 10, 2009, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)

On this free public Council teleconference, Matthew A. Karlyn, attorney at Foley & Lardner in Boston, will share tips on negotiating tactics and new, creative contract terms to help mid-market CIOs make better deals.

Executive Competencies Assessment Tool

Assess Your Business Leadership Skills with the Council's new benchmarking tool. Rate yourself in change leadership, strategy, customer focus and more.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 
SUBSCRIBE TO CIO
 
Are you involved in setting the direction for your company's IT budget or strategy?

Apply today for a FREE subscription to CIO Magazine!

 
 
 

Open-Source Software and Its Role in Space Exploration

A software developer from JPL explains the reasons that NASA has embraced free and open source software in its application development process. Because, in a Mars launch, the term "mission critical" has a literal meaning.

 

May 22, 2007CIO

What did the rocket scientist say to the Free/Open Source Software developer? Let's do launch! It's only natural that they'd want to work together. Both communities are focused on the cutting edge: creating tools and capabilities that did not previously exist. Both dedicate their work to expanding humanity's pool of information and want that information to float freely through society.

I am a software developer currently working on the NASA/JPL MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) rover, which launches in 2009. These are personal observations of how I encounter Free/Open Source Software (FOSS), and what I think about it.

Common Goals

Free floating information feeds a cycle of knowledge. Where the FOSS community donates code, algorithms and products, NASA and other organizations reciprocate with knowledge about weather systems, climate and basic science. Everyone contributes what they're best at, and tightly chartered organizations can stay focused on deeper penetration of hard problems, confident that others are doing the same. Space exploration is necessarily a cooperative venture; it's much too hard for anything less than all of humanity.

Look at these statements side by side, and you'll see the philosophical similarities:

NASA codifies its dedication in Congress' Space Act Charter:

[NASA shall] ... provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof...

The Open Source Initiative criteria for "Open Source" includes:

  • Allow free redistribution
  • Provide access to source code
  • Allow modifications and the creation of "derived works"

FOSS developers codify that dedication in copyrights, copy-lefts, and license agreements like the GPL (GNU Public License), which says in part:

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.

Open Source in Space

Need a few examples?

FOSS explores our Solar System. We send robots to the moon, Mars and beyond to flyby, orbit or land. FOSS goes with them, pervasive in the real-time operating systems, math libraries and file systems. Consider the robotic decisions of where to rove, and realize the power given the human race by the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) compilers, libraries, build scripts and so on.

"Electra" is NASA/JPL's Software Defined Radio (SDR) product created to support the Mars Network, and the InterPlanetary Internet. Electra provides UHF radio links in compliance with Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) protocols Proximity-1 (data link) and CFDP (file delivery).

 
 
Loading...
 
WHITE PAPERS

How is Open Source Changing the Face of Enterprise Software?

Ensure success with your Operational Performance Management initiative.
 

The Link Between Effective Online Business Banking and Web 2.0

Enhance your online business banking efforts with Web 2.0 Rich Internet Application technologies.
 

The Reality of Open Source Business Intelligence Options

Lower your business intelligence (BI) operational costs with open source BI. Find the right platform for your organization today.
 

The Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT PPM Applications

This report evaluates 19 vendors on their ability to execute and completeness of vision.
 

Brocade and Imperva: Providing Best-of-Breed Products

Web applications have become the backbone of business in nearly every segment of the economy.
 

Improve Code Quality Across Your Software Organization

Address developer skills and software processes, and you will eliminate many software quality issues.
 

WEBCASTS

Managing Client Systems in the Enterprise

Keeping client systems costs under control is just one of the many initiatives IT must address when trying to manag...
 

IT Consolidation Made Easy

The Primary IT Initiative for Reducing Costs
 

Webcast with Dan Vesset: Investing in Business Analytics Technology

What exactly is business analytics and why should you care? Dan Vesset of IDC and Gaurav Verma of SAS answer this a...
 

Capitalize on Your SAP Content

After 18 years of partnership and over 3,000 successful customer deployments, Open Text has become SAP's premier pa...
 

Enterprise Cloud Computing: Ready for Primetime?

The progression toward enterprise cloud computing is happening today, as industry leaders deploy technologies that ...
 

Preparing Your Business Services for the Future

Would you trust your network monitoring tools enough to know when something is truly halting a business service? Wh...
 

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

How Open Source is Changing the Face of Enterprise Software

Software Executives: Take Control of Your Organization's Code Quality

Forrester: Implementing Rich Internet Applications

Improve ROI, lower TCO and reduce energy consumption.

Introducing the new HP ProLiant G6 server family

Accenture: Outsourcing for Competitive Advantage. More...

Better spam protection with Postini for just $1/user/mo

Introducing the new HP ProLiant G6 server family

infoBOOM! - The Mid-Sized Company CIO's Exclusive Community

Accenture IT Consulting: Logical meets technological. More . . .

The Fraudster Economy Model: Operating a Business in the Underground

Payback in 9 months with CA Spectrum solutions

The Case for Investing in Business Analytics Technology. Read white paper.

Live Webinar: Applying Business Analytics. Click here to learn more

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Developing A Dynamic, Real-Time IT Infrastructure

Maximizing the Business Value of the PC Infrastructure

Communications and Collaboration Needs at Business Organizations

Using Open Source to Deploy Web Applications

Cloud Computing: Read about VMware's compelling vision & set of products

Enterprise PBX Buyer's Guide

Secondary Market Primer: Your Network at Half Price

How Interactive Viewer Reduces the Effort to Meet Visualization Requirements

Stop Application Fraud at the Source with Device Reputation

Learn about the VMware vSphere (TM) & Intel (R) Xeon (R) Processor 5500 Series

Open Source BI: Inexpensive Solutions for Developers

The Link Between Effective Online Business Banking and Web 2.0

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Get Google Enterprise Search for your business information.

Accenture IT Consulting: Enabling high performance. More...

Top Five CIO Challenges

Insight makes it easy to spend your Microsoft subsidy check.

Five minute business analytics assessment. Immediate results.

Dangerous Collaboration Practices: 5 Ways IT Can Minimize Risk

Accenture: Outsourcing for uncertain times. Click to learn more.

Keep online transactions fast with CA Wily APM

Get agile IT security with CA Security Management

Trade in your old laser printer and get up to $1000 back!

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

Revolutionizing Enterprise Application Deployment

Why Data Loss is Increasing--and What You Can Do About It

Data Loss Prevention: A Better Way to Approach Security

Learn how to managing client systems in the enterprise.

Build a High-Performance Open Web Platform

Mid-Sized Company CIO Community: infoBOOM!

Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide

Getting Value from Outdated Networking Equipment

Top-line Performance that's Bottom-line Efficient

White Paper: 8 Key Ingredients to Building an Internal Cloud

Read about virtualization and consolidation effort best practices