5 Satellite security
83. Space-based infrastructure such as satellites
is particularly vulnerable to space weather events as highlighted
by the evidence from Research Councils UK.[82]
[83] The growing reliance
on satellite infrastructure for a range of services, notably position,
navigation and timing (PNT) services which provide global navigation
satellite systems (GNSS) such as the US Global Positioning System
(GPS) means that this vulnerability is potentially very problematic:
There are more than 600 satellites in orbit providing
essential services [...]. During a space weather event the Van
Allen radiation belts can intensify 10,000 fold or more resulting
in satellite charging and damage to electronic components. Solar
energetic particle events can also reduce solar array power and
satellite lifetime. Three satellites in the radiation belts were
damaged in one event in 1994, leading to serious loss of service,
and satellite losses occurred in 1997, 1998 and 2003 during the
last solar cycle.[84]
The planned European GPS system under project Galileo,
by providing an alternative satellite navigation system will provide
some additional measure of protection, through redundancy to existing
GNSS.
84. The importance of PNT services were highlighted
by a recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering:
A failure or loss of signal due to some outside influence
can result in a range of consequences depending on the application;
in a telecommunications network, a small loss in the efficiency
of data handling may occur while the system "freewheels"
until a signal is restored; in a surveying application where timing
is not critical some delays may occur before the survey can be
properly completed. In such applications, a temporary loss of
GNSS signals might be considered an inconvenience. However, where
systems are used in safety of life critical applications, the
consequences can be more severe.[85]
85. The UK Armed Forces rely on satellite services
for a wide range of operational capabilities, such as communication
systems, navigation etc. However, there are well established ways
of reducing both the vulnerability of satellites themselves and
GNSS networks to the effects of space weather. For instance, Research
Councils UK suggest that "satellite operators attempt to
mitigate the effects of space weather by hardening chips against
radiation and by using multiple circuits so that a malfunctioning
circuit can be outvoted by ones that are operating correctly."[86]
86. Security of satellites is
a matter of growing concern as our reliance upon such systems
and the sheer number of satellites in orbit increase. The Government
must consider the long-term security of satellite technology and
ensure that national interests are protected where we rely on
other nations for data, such as GPS. In the event of very severe
space weather, even hardened satellite technology might be at
risk of degradation. The MoD cannot therefore rule out the loss
or degradation of satellite based-communications systems, and
must plan for this eventuality.
82 Ev 29 Back
83
Our Specialist Adviser told us that in fact banking systems avoid
using satellite communications because they are too slow and that
only a very small proportion of internet traffic uses them. Also,
internet uses satellite only where other systems are not available. Back
84
Ev 30 Back
85
Global Navigation Space Systems: reliance and vulnerabilities,
Royal Academy of Engineering, March 2011 Back
86
Ev 31 Back
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