This software implements the protocols described in the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) publication CCSDS 735.1-B-1. The purpose of the protocols is to enable the exchange of messages among a group of applications. The protocols provide several mechanisms for message exchange, including publish/subscribe (i.e., the source of a message specifies a subject, and the message is delivered to all members who have subscribed to that subject) and direct send (i.e., the source of a message specifies a particular member for whom to deliver the message). One of the protocols (Meta-AMS) supports a local community of applications. Another protocol (Remote-AMS) provides a gateway mechanism that connects multiple local message communities together, enabling a publish/subscribe capability between communities that, for example, might be on different planets.

These libraries were developed in support of the Goddard Data Standards program. This technology could be applicable as a message service within a satellite and/or between multiple satellites. The main advantages of this application are its flexibility and its simplicity. It uses a “network of hiking trails” analogy to simplify the logic of propagating subscriptions through a network of local communities: the CCSDS has published this analogy as part of the Green Book that helps people understand what AMS does and how it works.

This work was done by Timothy Ray of Goddard Space Flight Center. GSC-16069-1