Galaxy 15

• The recent leak of Pentagon documents included the suggestion that China is developing sophisticated cyber attacks for the purpose of disrupting military communication satellites.
• While this is unconfirmed, it is certainly possible, as many sovereign nations and private companies have considered how to protect from signal interference.
• Nearly every aspect of our lives is enabled by satellite communication, from financial transactions, navigation, weather prediction, and internet services to more remote locations.
• But when we consider the military benefits of satellites, immediate communication is vital for early warning systems and tracking.

Three ways to disrupt satellite communications

• By bombarding the receiving station or the satellite itself you can effectively drown out the signal.
• Jamming This is a method of diverting the communication signal from reaching the satellite or the ground control station.
• The original signal needs to be silenced or overpowered and the replacement signal must be able to accurately communicate and fool a satellite.
• If you can trick a satellite into thinking you are the true command source, then not only are communications blocked but false information and images can be sent to the ground stations.

Zombie satellites

• When a satellite does go out of communication, we refer to it as a zombie satellite.
• Essentially it cannot do any of its intended tasks and just orbits with little chance of recovery.
• This can happen naturally during coronal mass ejections, when the Sun releases large amounts of energetic charged particles that can interact with satellites causing electrical surges.