Nichols Martin
Engility completed independent verification and validation support work for a NASA spacecraft that launched on Sunday to study the sun’s unexplored portions.
The company said Monday it evaluated the Parker Solar Probe‘s operation software to confirm the spacecraft’s capacity to perform as intended and work under austere conditions when close to the sun.
Engility also assessed the spacecraft’s guidance, navigation and control software to verify that its heat shield is positioned correctly for protection against extreme heat and radiation.
The spacecraft, named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker, critically depends on proper software operation to function.
Failure of software-intensive systems may disrupt the probe’s navigation, data gathering, sensor and communications activities.
Parker Solar Probe lifted off aboard United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
