NASA's Stennis Space Center has released its first-ever open-source software, the NASA Data Acquisition System Peer Review Tool. Developed internally based on lessons learned from creating their primary data acquisition system, this tool is designed to improve the efficiency and collaboration in peer reviewing system applications, particularly those written in the graphical LabVIEW language. The software helps developers streamline the review process by automating steps, facilitating better feedback exchange, and focusing attention on critical code changes. The decision to open-source was driven by the lack of similar tools with the desired features, with the hope of fostering community involvement for continuous improvement. This release is distinct from other open-source contributions from different NASA centers, and discussions surrounding it highlight the variability and challenges involved in the process of releasing code openly across the agency, as well as reactions to the tool's LabVIEW dependency.
Summarizing the NASA Stennis Open-Source Software Release and Discussion:
Stennis's First Open-Source Release: NASA's Stennis Space Center announced its first open-source software release, the NASA Data Acquisition System Peer Review Tool.
Purpose: The tool facilitates more efficient and collaborative peer review of system applications used in propulsion test work and other technical efforts.
Origin and Development: It was developed internally at Stennis over several years, based on processes used for the NASA Data Acquisition System (NDAS).
Key Benefit: The tool helps improve the review process, allowing developers to focus more on key items and address issues earlier compared to manual reviews.
Focus on LabVIEW: The tool is specifically designed to work with National Instruments LabVIEW, a graphical programming language widely used by engineers and scientists, addressing the challenge of reviewing graphical code which is different from text-based languages.
Motivation for Open Source: The center decided to release the tool as open source because they found no existing alternatives with its features, aiming to allow the open-source community to modify, refine, and build a community around it for continuous improvement.
Availability: The tool is available for access on NASA GitHub.
Clarification (Discussion): Hacker News commenters clarified that this is Stennis's first open-source release, not NASA's first overall, as NASA has a long history of releasing open-source software from various centers.
Other NASA OS Projects (Discussion): Examples of other NASA open-source projects were shared (e.g., 3DTilesRendererJS, Open Vehicle Sketchpad).
LabVIEW Reactions (Discussion): The prerequisite of LabVIEW sparked discussion on its use within NASA, acknowledging its utility for rapid prototyping by non-SWE engineers but also its graphical nature and proprietary license.
Release Process Challenges (Discussion): Commenters discussed the significant red tape and legal review involved in releasing code as open source within NASA, noting that it can take years, though some centers are streamlining the process.
NOSA License (Discussion): The NASA Open Source Agreement (NOSA) license was mentioned as being OSD compliant but potentially difficult for integrating projects into the wider ecosystem due to specific requirements.