By Courtney E. Howard

SAN JOSE, Calif. (ESC), 4 April 2007. During the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in San Jose, Calif., LynuxWorks Inc. executives revealed that the company has been selected to provide the real-time operating system (RTOS) for the European Space Agency's Galileo project, a civilian-controlled global navigation system.

As part of the core element of the Galileo system, LynxOS-178, the first and only commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) RTOS to receive Reusable Software Component (RSC) acceptance for reusability from the FAA for DO-178B certification, will provide capabilities for communications across various devices and operating systems on the ground and in space.

The European Galileo global navigation satellite system will be used for location-based services, as well as in situations where safety is critical, such as running trains and landing airplanes, and in search and rescue operations. Galileo is designed to provide accuracy in determining location down to the meter, as well as compatibility with the world's other two positioning systems, GPS and Russia's GLONASS.

LynxOS-178 will be used in the critical Galileo Mission Segments (GMS), which lies at the heart of the system. The GMS is a network of Earth-based stations that monitor signals from the satellites and transmit navigation data to the satellites.

LynxOS-178 offers openness in development platforms for safety-critical systems, including support for Pentium and PowerPC processors, both of which will be used in the overall Galileo project. LynxOS-178 boasts broad support of open and industry standards, including POSIX compliance, ARINC 653 conformance, and full support for C++ applications.

"LynxOS-178 has been chosen as a result of a strict selection process" says Bertrand Revol, sub project manager, Alcatel Alenia Space, the company overseeing the Galileo project. "LynxOS-178 will provide us with the ability to guarantee availability of the satellite system under any circumstance."