The Increasing Threat to Satellite Communications

By Sean Patrick Bain
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

(Continued)

Case Study: 'Privateer'

The ‘Privateer’ project, initially developed as a design project, illustrates the extent of the risk satellite piracy poses. This experiment was considered initially as a hypothetical theory based on largely random information found primarily as open-source on the Internet. Of the five total members of the design team attempting this experiment, the team was skeptical as to the probability of successfully and clearly receiving any satellite telemetry. However, within the following two weeks, the team was able to construct an apparatus to receive signals and also to electronically interpret the data into clear and useful information.

As with most satellite ground-stations, the ‘Privateer’ is primarily composed of two main components; the receiver and decoder. The receiver component consists of the antenna, a preamp, and a standard radio scanner-receiver. The scanner-receiver and preamp are equipment easily acquired and often used for radio-hobbyists. The antenna itself called for a Quadra filer-helix configuration and was custom produced by three members of the design team. The schematics were primarily acquired through unrestricted Internet websites, and any unknown elements of the construct were easily interpreted. All materials necessary in the antenna construction, including mostly PVC and copper piping, were easily found for a minimal price at the local hardware and plumbing supply store. The actual assembly of the antenna required only a moderate knowledge of typical machine-shop tools. Small hand-tools would have been applicable and, given additional time consideration, just as effective. Although the design of the Quadra filer helix antenna limits the signal reception to low-gain, its structure is shaped to best take advantage of the wavelength of the signals transmitted from the NOAA satellite constellation. Overall, although the effort of the group was distributed over a week-and-a-half, the effort of a single dedicated individual with the appropriate materials available would be able to accomplish the same task within a period of 48 hours.

The second component to this assembly, the decoder, was applied as a software program available on the Internet as ‘freeware’. This freeware required no payment, consumer information, or registration of any kind, and provided an operable copy of this NOAA decoding program. All that was required was a desktop computer of moderate capacity, an Internet connection, and the patience needed to download less than 8 megabytes of software. Once the software is installed, the computer may be attached to the receiver assembly described in the previous paragraph. It should be noted that the producer of this freeware intended for the product to be used specifically for gathering legal open-access information from the NOAA weather satellite constellation.

Upon the complete assembly of the receiver and decoder link described above, the user is ready to begin receiving satellite data. The assembly was activated at a time anticipated to be in range of a passing target satellite. The signal received travels through the antenna to the preamp to the scanner-receiver, which, in turn, produces a sequence of coded sounds. These sounds are fed into the computer through the scanner-receiver where they are translated into bitmap images. Once the satellite’s transmission beam is within range, the surrounding atmosphere is saturated with the transmission signal and the research team was able to receive the telemetry and, more specifically, images of Earth taken real-time from orbit.

Although all actions described above were sanctioned and entirely legal, it does demonstrate the potential threat posed in this concept. While this paper does not describe in detail the development and use of this assembly it should be stressed that it was a very simple process requiring only moderate education and minimal experience.

This threat parallels the concept of the free-lance, independent highwaymen of the medieval era. While there is always the threat of opposing nations able to devote significant resources to thwart the intended use of a users’ satellite, this introduces a relatively new threat of individuals or individual groups of limited resources potentially being able to misuse orbital equipment and information maintained for the interests of national security. This is easily comparable to the security risks of the Internet. Since its rise in public availability, the various governments and corporations of the world have suffered countless violations and security breaches, not only from professional espionage groups, but also private individuals and even young children particularly adept at ‘code cracking’. It can no longer be assumed that space is safe from the reach of those organized to oppose and threaten interests, whether domestic or terrorist.