Evaluating the Efficiency and Scalability of CubeSat Simulations on Low-Capacity Systems: A Comparative Study

With the exponential growth in CubeSat launches in the recent years, added to the developments in satellite constellations operating jointly, an urge for complex-system implementations and simulations is needed. Yet, the scalability and computational feasibility of simulating Cube-Sat operations on distributed, low-capacity systems remain under-explored. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the efficiency and scalability of CubeSat simulations across a variety of computing environments, including MATLAB Simulink, C++, and C++ integrated with High-Level Architecture (HLA), both on Windows and Linux operating systems, and also including x86 and ARM CPUs architectures. Through comparative analysis across conventional PCs and a cluster of single-board computers (SBCs), this research critically assesses the viability of leveraging ’low-power,’ ’low-cost’ computing resources for distributed CubeSat constellations simulations. Our findings reveal significant challenges in balancing simulation fidelity with computational resource allocation, particularly when scaling up simulations using HLA-based distributed architectures on low-capacity systems. The results suggest that, without substantial enhancements in computational power or accepting compromises in simulation quality, the effectiveness of adopting HLA for Cube-Sat simulation at scale is limited. These insights challenge prevailing assumptions about the computational efficiency of distributed simulations and underscore the need for innovative approaches to optimize resource use. This study contributes to the broader discourse on satellite simulation technologies, urging a reevaluation of computational strategies to advance the capabilities of CubeSat simulations for accessible space exploration.     «

With the exponential growth in CubeSat launches in the recent years, added to the developments in satellite constellations operating jointly, an urge for complex-system implementations and simulations is needed. Yet, the scalability and computational feasibility of simulating Cube-Sat operations on distributed, low-capacity systems remain under-explored. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the efficiency and scalability of CubeSat simulations across a variety of computing environments, i...     »