July 25, 2024

Article link: New report examines Space Force agency’s ambitious satellite network program – SpaceNews

The Aerospace Corporation has completed an analysis of the Space Force’s Space Development Agency’s (SDA) initiative to deploy a proliferated, networked system of small satellites. The analysis was written by Andrew Berglund, senior policy analyst at the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy.

SDA intends to launch approximately 500 satellites within four years to build its Transport and Tracking Layers to support data communications and missile-warning. The analysis indicates that SDA may experience hurdles with demonstrating system capabilities at scale and executing such an ambitious launch schedule. The paper also notes that other defense acquisition organizations may experience hurdles when trying to adopt SDA’s model due to differences in operational structures. The paper states that it may be difficult to integrate satellites from so many diverse manufacturers.

SDA’s system sounds extremely large and complex. Initial cybersecurity concerns include the use of so many manufacturers when building the system. Each manufacturer introduces its own vulnerability to the system. For example, if a piece of software was built by one company but the communications are built by another company, there are two entry points for a cybersecurity threat to engage with the system. Having so many manufacturers that contribute to the system expose it to many different potential threat actors and access points.

If the SDA system were to be infiltrated by a threat actor, the actor could gain access to critical data that the US Space Force needs. Manipulating the data could misinform the US Space Force and impact their mission effectiveness which could have large impact. It will be critical for SDA to include cybersecurity best practices in its system design so that data can effectively be used by those who need it.