How do you handle “staging servers” in non-web environments?

Question

Sorry if the title doesn't make sense, but I always work as a web developer and I wondered how do you handle testing / simulations / etc in non-web developments, especially in stuff like satellites, cars, etc.How do you test your software? How, for example, is SpaceX software tested without launching a misile? I am sure you can test a lot with "fake" inputs but you can't be completely sure that it is going to be the same in the real scenario.So if you want to share your insights from a not-common industry, use this thread!

flamesofphx · Accepted Answer

You can make some pretty compelling test for equipment and sensors, for space applications, it's just costly... Creating a cold vacuum with occasional charged particle is not impossible. I just always just make sure there no metric to english conversions, and if there is no way to get around that triple check then at every design staged... This question is very specific to each test though.. But there is a lot of testing that can be done outside of an actually... Most sensitive things do not get exposed until the end devices is in stable orbit though too, so it's just a matter of making sure it's shielded there.. Cold and vacuum can actually be a major boon to many designs too.