August 2nd, 2024

Link to article: Umbra ventures into custom satellite manufacturing  – SpaceNews

Umbra is a commercial space company that specializes in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. SAR satellites use radar sensors to produce high-resolution imagery of the Earth both day and night regardless of cloud cover. Umbra has strong demand and active engagement with customers who need capability to support defense, intelligence, and civil missions.

Umbra is looking into filling demands for “complete satellite systems” or satellite systems that do not use commercial off-the-shelf (COTs) components. COTs are great for saving companies money in component acquisition, offer larger technical assistance with such a large group of users, and are usually easily deployable. COTS also offer great risk in terms of cybersecurity due to the well-known nature of how components operate. It would be easy for an adversary to investigate a COTS component that Umbra is using and figure out how to best manipulate its behavior. Manipulating a COTS component on an Umbra space vehicle could have impact on the ability to deliver imagery that is necessary for Umbra’s customers. If the customer needs to be able to support defense, intelligence, or civil missions, inability or delay in receiving imagery could have significant impact on mission success. Umbra is making its system more resilient against cybersecurity threats by building space vehicles with custom components that will make it harder for an adversary to understand and access the system.