Anybody seen the article, page 86 in the Linux Journal on using Linux, and embedded linux for all sorts of monitoring and controls of equipment and processes on the International Space Station? All sorts of things including 24 bit A/D converters, optics and real-time needs.
Here' a quote near the end of the article: " Linux nowadays is a common tool for space-related projects, whereas several year ago, proprietary systems, such as VRTX, QNX or VXWorks, where leading. In addition, this past year even led to FlightLinux, as standard Linux distribution adapted to spacecraft environments. Opensource software is of crucial importance for these kinds of projects, and our experience with Linux has proven that it has a great future in space."
These aforementioned RTOS, VRTX, QNX or VXWorks, are found on many proprietary PLCs and controllers.
Very Cool article!
James