Space Interferometry Mission flight software management challenges and lessons

The space interferometry mission (SIM) under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been an ambitious project which when completed will determine the positions and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than any previous program. This accuracy will allow SIM to determine the distances to stars throughout the galaxy and to probe nearby stars for Earth-sized planets. [1] However, it has been a roller coaster in terms of funding. After several false starts, the flight software development team finally ramped up in early 2004. The flight software development team built prototype programs for timing benchmarks, designed a new architecture, implemented a core infrastructure usable by a variety of future missions, and successfully developed and infused new technology along the way, before being disbanded due to funding cuts at the beginning of 2007.