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I am a spacecraft engineer. I don’t see anything in the linked article indicating that they are actually running Windows - the BSOD claim is tongue-in-cheek, or at least that’s how I read it. I also don’t know of anyone anywhere that runs Windows on a spacecraft, with the exception of laptops used by astronauts. Typically one runs vxWorks, or maybe QNX. Some experimental (high risk, low cost) systems run Linux. Older spacecraft don't run any OS at all, everything is running on bare metal, and that may be true for a handful of current spacecraft as well.
Windows is used in some places by ground controllers, but these days they tend to be running Linux a lot more often.
One must have balls of steel to run windows on a spaceship.
Genuine question, what would you use instead and why?
One must have balls of steel to run windows on a spaceship.
> If the watchdog timer has not been restarted and instead times out after ~30 seconds, the satellite enters something called safemode. Safemode is when all non critical functions are automatically shut down and the satellite becomes entirely focused on generating power by pointing its solar panels towards the Sun and trying to reestablish any communication that was lost. It’s a state the vehicle goes into when something bad happens [...] the satellite equivalent of a blue screen of death.
If only Windows would be so kind!
One must have balls of steel to run windows on a spaceship.
Genuine question, what would you use instead and why?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Genuine question, what would you use instead and why?
Real Time Operating System(s) like VxWorks. Commodity equipment running specialized distros of Linux is a growing thing however.
Linux RT merge: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin...