Satellite Space Crime

When Satellites Go Rogue: On the Origins of Space Crime

by futurecrimes on May 16, 2010 • 11:26 pm No Comments

In early April 2010, for the first time in history, an American geostationary satellite has gone  “rogue.”  The satellite, known as the Galaxy 15, is no longer responding to command and control communications from its legitimate owner, the Intelsat corporation.  Moreover, the satellite has left its assigned duty location and is now drifting uncontrolled through space.  While mis-orbiting and crashed satellites are not a new phenomenon, they usually cease functioning and stop transmitting when leaving orbit and hurtling towards earth.

What makes the Galaxy 15 case so unique, is that the satellite’s systems are fully functioning, with its telecommunications payload (the equipment that relays customer’s transmissions around the globe) fully “powered-on.” Despite 150,000-200,000 attempts to reboot system’s software, the satellite is refusing to accept commands from Earth.  The primary threat in this case is not from the satellite crashing directly into another satellite, but instead interfering with other global satellite signals.

In an ironic twist, the Galaxy 15 carries the signal for the SyFy science fiction television channel. As the satellite drifts closer and closer to other geostationary satellites, it may well “steal” their signals, disrupt their operations and prevent legitimate signal transmission to Earth.  In fact, between May 23 and June 7, 2010,  Galaxy 15 is projected to pass within half a degree of the AMC-11 satellite, which is operated by SES World Skies. As the two satellites pass close to each other, particularly during closest approach on 31 May and 1 June, signals from Galaxy 15′s still-active transponders could interfere with signals being broadcast by AMC-11.  While SES will attempt to maneuver the AMC-11 satellite to avoid interference, the likely result may be the theft of second satellite’s signal by the rogue Galaxy 15, preventing television viewers in Luxembourg from receiving their satellite signals.

So what’s next for the 1,892-kilogram Galaxy 15 “zombiesat?”  It will continue to travel out of orbit 36,000 kilometers over the equator.  Whether scientists will be able to regain control of the device is unknown.  In the meantime, the SES corporation is attempting to maneuver its AMC-11 out of the Galaxy 15′s path to avoid the possibility of interference.  NASA too is monitoring the situation, (see NASA’s tracking map of satellites orbiting Earth here).

Importantly, in addition to its satellite television duties, the Galax 15 also plays a role in supporting global positioning for air travel.  The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is leasing an L-band payload on Galaxy 15 to guide aircraft as part of a satellite-based navigation service that uses the U.S. GPS satellites in mediumPRIVATE track:<t-1.000> PRIVATE track:<t-3.000> Earth orbit.  Intelsat is coordinating Galaxy 15 testing with the FAA as part of the FAA’s Geostationary Communications and Control Segment (GCCS) program that provides ground stations and broadcast services that, by using signals on the geostationary-orbit satellites, improve the accuracy of GPS signals for global aviation.

So where is the crime nexus?

First, let’s be clear–there is no evidence to prove there is any criminal activity associated with the Galaxy 15′s problems.  That said, we also do not know with certainty what happened to the satellite.  While many scientists are attributing the malfunction to a “possible solar flare,” there is no definitive proof that it was a solar flare that caused the resulting space havoc.  Could have been the result of a hacking?  Perhaps. Who knows?  How does one perform a computer forensics examination in space to definitely determine the cause?

While the supposition is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the underlying concerns are legitimate.  As demonstrated elsewhere, criminals and terrorists were capable of hacking into highly sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) utilized by the United States military in Iraq.  Presumably these devices would have been protected by sophisticated encryption technologies and impervious to hacker attack,  yet insurgents were able to compromise the system using a $26 satellite piracy program known as skygrabber.  Why then would it be unfeasible for hackers or terrorists to do the same with geo-orbital satellites circling our planet?

What could criminals or terrorists do with a satellite were they control it?  In short, a lot.  Theoretically the satellites could be guided to crash back towards earth.  They could also be maneouvered to collide with any number of other satellites, including military and national defense systems.  What protection, if any, do satellites have from such attacks?  Are satellites capable of self-defense?  That answer is not clear, but defense systems may be quite limited given that the people that launch and build satellites don’t think like criminals.  Just as the scientists that built the UAV’s whose video systems were compromised did not ever consider the possibility that terrorist insurgents would be sophisticated enough to hack into their systems, so too is it highly unlikely that satellite manufacturers are prepared for a similar criminal hack attack.

As more and more satellites travel into space, launched by dozens and dozens of new and emerging companies, what steps, if any, are being taken to protect these devices from criminal hacking activities?  The fact is, now is the time to consider these issues, before a confirmed criminal hacking does indeed take place.  Just as manufacturers of computers and microprocessors never envisioned phishing attacks or botnets, so too may satellite manufacturers be blind to the potential security threats enabled through the widespread use of their technologies.  Unless some level of public scrutiny is dedicated to these issues now, we may be at the precipice of the first generation of space-related crimes.