Development and testing of a target program monitoring system

Abstract

Poster and abstract presented at the FYRE in STEM Showcase, 2025.Research project completed at the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics.As part of the Neutrino Solar Orbiting Laboratory (nuSOL) mission, the SNAPPY CubeSat detector (a 3U nanosatellite) is expected to launch in low Earth orbit in 2025. It will be gathering data to support the detection of solar neutrinos, elusive subatomic particles that are created inside the Sun. In this project, an automated program monitoring system was developed with Python to ensure programs in the CubeSat function successfully. At 10-minute intervals, the system checks if a chosen target program is running. When the program is not detected, the system automatically restarts it to continue operation. If the target program fails to run after the first attempt, the system carries out two further restarts with a configured delay time to prevent overexertion on the system. After three failed attempts to restart the program, a lock file is created and diagnostics are logged. Varying restart delay times (1, 5, 15, and 30 seconds) were tested, confirming the downtime is proportional to the configured restart delay. Furthermore, the time the system takes to restart a program was found to be consistent between 2-3 seconds. Implementing this monitor system allows for the continuous collection of data in space. More development and testing will ensure long-term reliability