Ben Popper

We’ve talked about the software that flies SpaceX rockets, the team that tests the code to ensure it’s airtight, and the code that helps Starlink satellites communicate with customers and one another. For our last piece, we’re diving into the work of a team that helps the vehicles get built.

There are requirements that make software engineers sweat. Massive distribution to thousands of nodes. High reliability and availability. Multiple distinct platforms. Rapid network growth. This is the world SpaceX’s Starlink program, which has set a goal to provide high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable.

Spaceflight, from the beginning, has depended on computers – both on the ground and in the spacecraft. SpaceX has carried it to a new level. We recently spoke with Steven Gerding, Dragon’s software development lead, about the special challenges software development has for SpaceX's many missions.