Notes on integration, testing, and remote ops in aerospace.

Dmitry Goldenberg·4 min read

How Ambiguous ICDs Cost AIT Satellite Engineers Their Time

A detailed look at the ambiguities inside an satellite Interface Control Document (ICD) and how AI document analysis can help.

Why Deterministic Code Generation Is Better Than Probabilistic AI For Satellite Flight Software

Deterministic code generation lets satellite teams accelerate flight software integration without making sacrifices for mission-critical systems.

How To Detect Failures Early In Mission-Critical Flight Software

Nearly 95% of hardware-software interface failures are discovered late in the AIT phase. We need to address the root cause: ambiguous static documentation.

Integration & Testing

How to build integration tests that catch real bugs before hardware shows up.

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Why Deterministic Code Generation Is Better Than Probabilistic AI For Satellite Flight Software

Deterministic code generation lets satellite teams accelerate flight software integration without making sacrifices for mission-critical systems.

Dan Zaidenband·8 min read

The Box Was Qualified Against a Spacecraft That Never Flew

Every ICD lists what the component must do. What the spacecraft owes the component is never written down, and never verified.

Dan Zaidenband·6 min read

Simulation Is the Only Rehearsal a One-Shot Interface Gets

Separation and deployment interfaces execute once. Qualification tests the mechanism; only simulation ever tests the interface.

Why Deterministic Code Generation Is Better Than Probabilistic AI For Satellite Flight Software

Deterministic code generation lets satellite teams accelerate flight software integration without making sacrifices for mission-critical systems.

Dan Zaidenband·8 min read

The Box Was Qualified Against a Spacecraft That Never Flew

Every ICD lists what the component must do. What the spacecraft owes the component is never written down, and never verified.

Interface Control (ICDs)

Authoring, reviewing, and generating ICDs that don't drift.

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Dmitry Goldenberg·4 min read

How Ambiguous ICDs Cost AIT Satellite Engineers Their Time

A detailed look at the ambiguities inside an satellite Interface Control Document (ICD) and how AI document analysis can help.

How To Detect Failures Early In Mission-Critical Flight Software

Nearly 95% of hardware-software interface failures are discovered late in the AIT phase. We need to address the root cause: ambiguous static documentation.

Dan Zaidenband·6 min read

The ICD Stopped Being True When It Became a Deliverable

ICDs don't go stale from carelessness. They go stale because changing one is a contract action, so the truth moves somewhere cheaper.

Lessons from Missions

Post-mortems and case studies from the missions that shipped — and the ones that didn't.

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Lessons from Missions

Changing a Shared Interface Without Breaking Downstream

Putting the interface in one schema is the easy half. Changing it mid-program without breaking the vendor downstream is the hard half.

Dan Zaidenband·6 min read

Lessons from Missions

Schiaparelli's tests passed. The mission failed anyway

ESA's lander hit Mars at 300 km/h with green test reports behind it. A look at how passing tests can still miss the failure mode that matters.

Dan Zaidenband·4 min read

Industry Perspectives

How the space industry actually works — and where it's broken.

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Dan Zaidenband·7 min read

Defense Made Open Interfaces the Law. Space Made Them Optional.

Defense made open interfaces federal law in 2019. Space still treats them as optional, and pays for it at integration.

Dan Zaidenband·3 min read

"We tested it" isn't an answer at CDR

At Critical Design Review, "we ran the tests" doesn't prove integration readiness. Here's what reviewers should ask instead — and what teams should bring.

Dan Zaidenband·4 min read

What space vendors should ship instead of source code

Source code drops are the wrong deliverable. What primes actually need from suppliers: executable interface models, conformance tests, and traceable behavior.

Dan Zaidenband·7 min read

Defense Made Open Interfaces the Law. Space Made Them Optional.

Defense made open interfaces federal law in 2019. Space still treats them as optional, and pays for it at integration.