Open Source Goes Ballistic

Validation.It’s a nice thing when you can get it. We may have unintentionally gained just a little today in a sideways sort of way.

A hallmark characteristic of the OSDV Foundation’s work is the unique (and challenging) interdisciplinary approach to our work: the application of high assurance engineering with open source methods. Sure, it’s sort of a yin-yang relationship: the highly methodical disciplined approach to single-purpose component and device design meets the chaotic, highly agile and sometimes unstructured approach to software (and hardware) design and development.

Yesterday, NASA reportedly announced a mandate for the use of open source specifications in next-generation avionics system. The avionics system will guide rockets responsible for launching the manned Orion spacecraft into Earth orbit and on to the moon.

Given that, similar to the military, NASA and its contractors are the best examples of engineers using high assurance methodologies this seems like a fair example of what we’ve been suggesting all along: that the OSDV Foundation can, in fact, employ high assurance methodologies under an open-source mandate. It does suggest a high degree of clear specification is imperative.

Other than that, I call this at least a small validation. Nice.

GAM|out