DARTS Shell (Dshell) is a multi-mission spacecraft simulation environment for real-time, hardware-in-the-loop simulations for testing and verification of flight software and hardware.

The Dshell environment integrates the DARTS S/C dynamics simulator and a library of hardware models (for actuators, sensors and motors) into an integrated simulation environment that can be easily configured and interfaced with flight software and hardware for various real-time and non real-time S/C simulation needs. The main goals of the Dshell environment are:

1. To significantly reduce the software development required to interface dynamics simulators, actuator and sensor hardware models and hardware-in-the-loop devices.
2. To eliminate the need for separate interface development efforts across the various (analysis, software and real-time) testbeds within a project, and allow easy migration of models between testbeds.
3. To allow the easy support of a variety of S/C configurations and models and simulation environments for all the phases of the mission.
4. Allow the easy reuse and customization of the large number of hardware models available from various projects.

The Dshell software runs on embedded processors, special purpose vector-processing boards and can also be used on desktop workstations for off-line dynamics simulations for the design and evaluation of control algorithms and software. It is in use by several space missions including the Cassini, Mars Pathfinder, Galileo, Deep Space 1, and Mars Science Laboratory.