L-3 Telemetry-West’s InControl represents a unique solution for satellite command and control. In addition to the functions typically expected from a control center software (e.g. command generation, telemetry processing, and automation tools such as procedures and schedulers), InControl also defines a solid and extensible software system architecture.

A primary goal of the creation of InControl was to make sure the product could continue to benefit from the use of new design ideas and the incorporation of experience from multiple spacecraft and operating philosophies. The resulting product provides a consistent architecture and operational control system that is not cobbled together based on reactions and ad-hoc modifications to old software, but rather a strong system design built on well thought out and proactive design decisions.

The technologies chosen to implement InControl are based upon the current best available technology standards and the needs of individual components. As technology improves, InControl can evolve to take advantage, but must always support the underlying concepts of platform independence, interoperability, distribution, and scalability. The current technologies used by InControl and their rationale is:

CORBA – Used for most messaging between InControl components. CORBA is a standard communication mechanism and directly supports interoperability and distribution by abstracting the implementation of InControl components behind well-defined interfaces.

Java – Used to implement the client GUI and some server components. Java is used for the client because of the many native features it provides for user interface development and its cross platform nature.

C++ - Used to implement some server components due to its superior performance.

XML – XML files are used to define databases and configuration information. XML is a no-cost alternative to a database management system, but provides an advantage over standard flat files in that it maintains the object oriented nature of InControl. XML files are also easier to maintain than a standard database.