Modern Satellites are built by international teams with all the components being created in different parts of the world. Common communication protocols are established by the designers to ensure the compatibility of all the components. Despite of all the detailed arrangements differences may arise that can lead to communication errors. To ensure proper communication between all the satellite’s components tests have to be carried out. The methods used nowadays are expensive as the simulators and laboratory models need to be built. VirtualCAN allows testing of the satellite’s apparatus and software during the construction stage of the prototype. Its main advantage is the fact of using the Internet as a way of communication to test the components when they are in there parent laboratories all over the world. VirtualCAN bus is one of the suggestions for other teams building the students’ satellite named ESEO within the European Space Agency project (ESA SSETI ESEO).

VirtualCAN is and program application providing an IP-bridge between two CAN buses. It can work with our CAN USB module but its architecture allows to easily add support of other devices of this kind.