Linux in Space

Credit NASA

NASA recently decided to remove the last proprietary piece of software from the International Space Station. Underlining a commitment, and shift in culture, to an open platform.

“We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable – one that would give us in-house control. So if we needed to patch, adjust or adapt, we could," said Keith Chuvala of the United Space Alliance, which runs opsLAN for NASA.

Linux could have no better endorsement of its capabilities than becoming an integral part of the infrastructure of the International Space Station.
NASA has embraced open source culture, setting up code.NASA. code.NASA's aim is to improve the software developed and used by NASA, via community peer review. The open movement it is hoped will  provide transparent, participatory and collaborative efforts which will provide NASA with software which is more closely tailored to its needs. At the same time it will encourage a wider participation and interaction with NASA by the public. 
As an organisation that is sponsored by the public, the sense of community action created by open participation in coding programmes can only be beneficial.
NASA may indicate a shift in attitudes towards open source software. That it can not only be trusted in the most demanding of environments it can be trusted by the wider public.