NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed F Prime (F´), an open-source framework designed to accelerate the creation of flight software for space missions. Originally built for CubeSats, SmallSats, and scientific instruments, the component-driven architecture is now available to the broader embedded systems community.
What Is F Prime?
F Prime is a C++ framework that decomposes flight software into discrete components with well-defined interfaces. It provides core capabilities such as message queues and threads, along with modeling tools to specify components and connections and automatically generate code. The framework also includes a growing library of ready-to-use components and testing tools for unit and integration levels.
Getting Started
To begin developing with F´, users need a Linux, Windows with WSL, or macOS system with Clang or GNU C++ compilers. The bootstrapping tool can be installed via pip: `pip install fprime-bootstrap`. After installation, create a new project with `fprime-bootstrap project`. New users are encouraged to follow the HelloWorld Tutorial and consult the User Manual.
Community and Support
Questions and discussions take place on the project's GitHub Discussions, while bugs can be reported through issues. The F´ Community GitHub Organization hosts third-party contributions and additional documentation. A Configuration Control Board (CCB) oversees decision-making, with designated maintainers handling day-to-day implementation. Version history and release artifacts are available on the Releases page.