KubOS
Kubos (acquired by Xplore)
Open-source flight software operating system for small spacecraft, combining an RTOS/Linux core, hardware abstraction layer, and flight middleware.
Technical specifications
- Kernel options
- RIOT-based RTOS, FreeRTOS, embedded Linux
- Communication protocol
- CubeSat Space Protocol (CSP)
- Release
- 1.0 (2017)
About
KubOS was marketed as an open-source, end-to-end software stack for small satellites, reaching its 1.0 release in 2017. It comprised a customized operating system (KubOS RT, built on the RIOT kernel with FreeRTOS support, or KubOS Linux for more capable onboard computers), a Hardware Abstraction Layer to simplify driver development across different satellite bus hardware, and Kubos Core flight middleware handling telemetry, commanding, and file management, using the CubeSat Space Protocol (CSP) for communication. KubOS was distributed by nanosatellite hardware vendors including ISIS, NanoAvionics, and Pumpkin Inc. It is no longer actively developed as a standalone commercial product following Kubos’s 2022 acquisition by Xplore, though open-source community forks persist.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
