Space Station OS v0.9.0 released — ROS 2 Jazzy, Pixi, and a new development baseline

Space Station OS v0.9.0 released — ROS 2 Jazzy, Pixi, and a new development baseline

We are pleased to announce the release of Space Station OS v0.9.0.

Demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O37aDPzUH4w

Space Station OS (SSOS) is an open-source ROS 2–based platform for simulating, integrating, and operating the subsystems of a crewed space station.

v0.9.0 is a major integration milestone for the project. It establishes a new public and development baseline as we continue toward v1.0.

ROS 2 Jazzy and Ubuntu 24.04

The native development and system-integration baseline is now:

• Ubuntu 24.04

• ROS 2 Jazzy

This gives SSOS a common modern ROS 2 environment for continued subsystem and system-level development.

Reproducible development with Pixi and RoboStack

SSOS now provides a reproducible ROS 2 Jazzy development and runtime environment through Pixi and RoboStack.

A typical setup is:

git clone https://github.com/space-station-os/space_station_os.git
cd space_station_os

pixi install --locked
pixi run build
pixi run test
pixi run station

This allows users to run and develop SSOS without requiring a system-wide ROS 2 installation.

Native Ubuntu 24.04 / ROS 2 Jazzy development remains supported for system integration and contributors who prefer a native ROS environment.

Ubuntu Desktop application

v0.9.0 also introduces a Tier-1 Ubuntu Desktop application path.

After initial installation, users can launch the full Space Station OS mission-control stack from a desktop shortcut without directly using ROS launch commands.

The goal is to make SSOS easier to explore while keeping the underlying ROS 2 architecture fully accessible to developers.

New SSOS architecture

v0.9.0 also establishes the foundation of the new SSOS system architecture.

This includes:

• ssos_core for system-level management and subsystem registration

• ssos_sim for simulation control, world state, simulation time, and fault injection

• shared system-level ROS 2 interfaces

• subsystem lifecycle, heartbeat, telemetry, and fault handling

• an integrated Mission Control GUI

• clearer separation between subsystem logic and ROS-specific integration

ECLSS serves as the first major reference implementation of this architecture.

Legacy space_station_* packages remain available during the migration and will be progressively reorganized into the new architecture.

Validation

The v0.9.0 Pixi baseline was validated with:

• 144 tests

• 0 failures

• 0 errors

• 0 skipped tests

Dedicated CI paths are provided for native ROS 2 Jazzy and the locked Pixi environment.

What comes next

v0.9.0 is not the end of the architecture work.

It is the baseline from which we are now expanding EPS, Thermal, GNC, and other subsystems toward a common station-level architecture.

The goal is to move from parallel subsystem demonstrations toward one extensible and configurable Space Station OS.

Links

Repository:

Repository space-station-os/space_station_os

GitHub - space-station-os/space_station_os: Space Station OS. A future where anyone can...

Space Station OS. A future where anyone can develop space stations.

v0.9.0 release:

GitHub

Release Space Station OS v0.9.0 — ROS 2 Jazzy, Pixi, and Desktop Application...

Space Station OS v0.9.0Space Station OS v0.9.0 is a major integration milestone for the project.This release establishes a new public and development baseline for SSOS, bringing together ROS 2 Jazz...

Project discussions:

GitHub

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We welcome feedback, technical discussion, testing, and contributions from the ROS community.

Thank you to everyone who has helped move Space Station OS forward.