SATELLITE – A PREVENTIVE MEASURE TO CYBERWAR BY HAMPO, JOHNPAUL ANENECHUKWU CHUKWUNONSO

SATELLITE – A PREVENTIVE MEASURE TO

CYBERWAR

BY

HAMPO, JOHNPAUL ANENECHUKWU

CHUKWUNONSO

A GRADUATE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE,

MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY,

ABRAKA – NIGERIA

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OCTOBER, 2012

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Table of ContentsDEDICATION.......................................................4ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................5

SATELLITE: A PREVENTIVE MEASURE TO CYBERWAR......................6ABSTRACT.........................................................6

INTRODUCTION.....................................................7AIMS............................................................10

SCOPE...........................................................10SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.......................................10

MOTIVATION OF STUDY.............................................10SATELLITE:......................................................11

HISTORY.........................................................11CLASSIFICATION OF SATELLITES....................................13

CATEGORIZATION..................................................13TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF SATELLITES...............................14

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SATLLITES..................................15HOW SATELLITES WORK.............................................17

SATELLITE NAVIGATION............................................22SATELLITE INTERNET ACCESS.......................................22

SATELLITE TELEVISION............................................22SATELLITE COMMUNICATION.........................................23

CYBERWAR (CYBERTERRORISM).......................................23HOW SATELLITES HELP TO FIGHT CYBERWAR...........................26

ADVANTAGES OF SATELLITES........................................27DISADVANTAGES/LIMITATIONS OF SATELLITES.........................28

CONCLUSION......................................................30SUMMARY.........................................................30

RECOMMENDATION..................................................30REFERENCE.......................................................31

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DEDICATIONThis research work is dedicated first to Jehovah God and

humanity especially those in computing and ICT, and related fields.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI appreciate and gratefully acknowledge God Almighty for

making me who I am today. Also for the intuition, life, Peace and

every good thing God has been giving me; Lord you’re indeed

wonderful.

I salute my relatives, past and present friends (foes

inclusive), lecturers back in school, bosses at past times and

opponents for all their support and otherwise.

More thanks to you, my readers. Continue the voyage on this work for better discoveries.

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SATELLITE: A PREVENTIVE MEASURE TO CYBERWAR

ABSTRACT

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an

object which has been placed into orbit by human

endeavour. Satellites are sometimes called artificial

satellites in order to distinguish them from natural

satellites such as the Moon which is the earth

original satellite. Spaceflight or space flight is a

ballistic flight into or through outer space.

Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft with or without

humans on board. Artificial satellites which are also

called man-made satellite and are usually closer to

the earth; originate from more than 50 countries and

have used the satellite launching capabilities of ten

nations. A few hundred satellites are currently

operational, whereas thousands of unused satellites

and satellite fragments orbit the Earth as space

debris. Satellites are used for a large number of

purposes, notably military and civilian Earth

observation satellites, communications satellites,

navigation satellites, weather satellites, and

research satellites. Space stations and

human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites.

Satellites are usually semi-independent computer-

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controlled systems. Satellite subsystems attend many

tasks, such as power generation, thermal control,

telemetry, attitude control and orbit control.

Cyberwar (also known as Cyberterrorism or

Cyberwarfare) refers to politically

motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage.

It is a form of information warfare sometimes seen as

analogous to conventional warfare, and in 2013 was,

for the first time, considered a larger threat

than Al Qaeda or terrorism, by many U.S. intelligence

officials. This seminar work, outline the benefits of

satellite and how it can be used (or how it is used)

to prevent, track and monitor the activities of

cyberterrorist.

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INTRODUCTION

Satellites which are semi- independent computer-

controlled systems and used for a large number of

purposes, remarkably military and civilian Earth

observation, communications, navigation, weather

monitoring and forecasting, and research, have been a

big plus to technology and has simplified many

complex areas of profession. These satellites are put

in place in the orbit or space by human efforts,

hence they are termed artificial satellites against

natural satellites – Sun, Moon and so on; that are

naturally in the orbit, (among the orbit system). An

orbit is the path which a satellite follows.

Although anything that is in orbit around Earth

is technically a satellite, the term "satellite" is

typically used to describe a useful object placed in

orbit purposely to perform some specific mission or

task. We commonly hear about weather satellites,

communication satellites and scientific satellites.

According to Wikipedia.org via

www.en.wikipedia.org/Satellite, “The world's first

artificial satellite, the Sputnik 1, was launched by

the Soviet Union in 1957. Since then, thousands of

satellites have been launched into orbit around9

the Earth. Some satellites, notably space stations,

have been launched in parts and assembled in orbit. A

few space probes have been placed into orbit around

other bodies and become artificial satellites to the

Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and

the Sun.” Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on

the purpose of the satellite, and are classified in a

number of ways. Well-known (overlapping) classes

include low Earth orbit, polar orbit,

and geostationary orbit.

Geostationary orbit - A geostationary orbit,

or Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), is a

circular orbit 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi)

above the Earth's equator and following the

direction of the Earth's rotation. (Source: A

geostationary Earth orbit satellite model using

Easy Java Simulation Loo Kang Wee and Giam Hwee

Goh 2013 Phys. Educ. 48 72 in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit#

cite_ref-1).

Polar orbit - A polar orbit is an orbit in which

a satellite passes above or nearly above both

poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet

such as the Earth, but possibly another body such

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as the Sun) on each revolution. It therefore has

an inclination of (or very close to)

90 degrees to the equator.

(Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_orbit)

Low Earth orbit - A low Earth orbit (LEO) is

generally defined as an orbit below an altitude

of approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi)

said,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit.

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Fig 1: An animation depicting the orbits of GPS satellites in medium Earth orbit. (Source: en.wikipedia.org/satellite)

Fig 2: A full-size model of the Earth observation satellite ERS 2. (Source: en.wikipedia.org/satellite)

According to Wikipedia.org, Richard A. Clarke, in

his book Cyber War (May 2010), defines "cyberwarfare"

as "actions by a nation-state to penetrate another

nation's computers or networks for the purposes of

causing damage or disruption." (See;

www.en.wikipedia.org/cyberwarfare). Cyberwar, consist

of different attacks done on a computer system or

network. This attack can be averted, monitored and

tracked done using surveillance satellites and earth

monitoring satellites. Cyberterrorism can also be

checked by the aid of communication satellites. Of

latest, terrorist has evolved to using the cyberspace

for their activities, for instance, the Al

Qaeda treat to the United States of America this

year, 2013. This makes the cyberwar a big issue that

has to be tamed as neglecting it might result to

normal war and terrorism.

In www.en.wikipedia.org/cyberwarfare,

‘The Economist describes cyberspace as "the fifth

domain of warfare,” and William J. Lynn, U.S.

Deputy Secretary of Defense, states that "as a

doctrinal matter, the Pentagon has formally

recognized cyberspace as a new domain in warfare

which has become just as critical to military

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operations as land, sea, air, and space.” Also on the

aforementioned website, In February 2010, a top

American lawmakers warned that the "threat of a

crippling attack on telecommunications and computer

networks was sharply on the rise.” According to The

Lipman Report, numerous key sectors of the U.S.

economy along with that of other nations, are

currently at risk, including cyber threats to public

and private facilities, banking and finance,

transportation, manufacturing, medical, education and

government, all of which are now dependent on

computers for daily operations. Moreover, President

Obama in 2009 confessed by stating that "cyber

intruders have probed our electrical grids."

With the advancement of technology is used by the

‘black mind technocrats’ for cyberwar and like

crimes. This phenomenon – cyberwar; is o the rise as

it is done not only by individuals or terrorist but

also nation indulge in it.

Sadly, satellites that were lunched at the low

earth orbit have been destroyed by ballistic missiles

launched from earth by some countries conspicuously

Russia, the United States and China. “In 2007

the Chinese military shot down an aging weather

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satellite, followed by the US Navy shooting down

a defunct spy satellite in February 2008.

”, reports www.en.wikipedia.org/Satellite.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This work is limited to the satellites as an aid

to prevent cyberwar. The literatures gotten are well

utilized and the point of discussion is not

satellites but the way they help to prevent cyberwar,

through their mode of communication. The basis of

this work would be on the information technological

aspect of satellites and not its mechanical or

electrical mode of operation.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

MOTIVATION OF STUDY

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SATELLITE: AN OVERVIEW

According to

http://www.howstuffworks.com/satellite.htm, a

satellite is basically any object that revolves

around a planet in a circular or elliptical path.

Satellites are objects that are placed or seen in the

space – a vacuum or void that is not necessary empty

but it’s outside the planet. There are natural and

artificial satellites. The sun, moon and stars are

classified under the natural satellites or mostly

called the Celestine bodies. Others satellites that

are place in the space by human’s endeavour are

artificial satellites or just called satellites.

There various types of artificial satellites and they

are classified according to their usage, such as

communication, weather forecasting, broadcasting and

television programming, earth surveillance and so on.

HISTORY OF SATELLITES

The desire and inquisitiveness of human to break

into space, have a space station and to bridge the

gap of communication between the space and the ground

prompt many into research as to having a

geostationary orbit. The idea of geostationary

satellites was first put forward by Tsiolkovsky.15

Mathematically, calculations were done by Konstantin

Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935), In 1903, who published Means

of Reaction Devices - a plan for a breakthrough into space

and a permanent human presence there. In 1928

Slovenian Herman Potočnik (1892–1929) published his

sole book, The Problem of Space Travel — The Rocket Moto. In a

1945 Wireless World article the English science fiction

writer Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) described in

detail the possible use of communications

satellites for mass communications.

The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1,

launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, and

initiating the Soviet Sputnik program, with Sergei

Korolev as chief designer (there is a crater on the

lunar far side which bears his name). This in turn

triggered the Space Race between the Soviet Union and

the United States. Sputnik 1 helped to identify the

density of high atmospheric layers through

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Fig 3: Sputnik 1: The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. (Source: en.wikipedia.org/satellite)

measurement of its orbital change and provided data

on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. Sputnik

2 was launched on November 3, 1957 and carried the

first living passenger into orbit, a dog named Laika.

Early satellites were constructed as "one-off"

designs. Explorer 1 became the United States' first

artificial satellite on January 31, 1958. With growth

in geosynchronous (GEO) satellite communication,

multiple satellites began to be built on single model

platforms called satellite buses. The first

standardized satellite bus design was the HS-333 GEO

commsat, launched in 1972. (History source is gotten

from: www.en.wikipedia.org/satellites, accessed on:

13/06/2013)

CLASSIFICATION OF SATELLITES

Satellites are broadly classified into two, which

are military satellite and non military satellites.

Here, the latter will be discussed in details.

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Fig 4: CubeSat ESTCube-1, developed mainly by the students from the University of Tartu, carries out a tether deployment experiment on the low Earth orbit. (Source:

Military satellites are purely and specifically

used for military purposes and functions.

Non military satellites are used for mainly for

non military functions and purposes but for other

purposes.

CATEGORIZATION OF NON SATELLITES

These class of satellites are categorized into

three (3). They are:

Fixed satellite services

Fixed satellite services handle hundreds of billions

of voice, data, and video transmission tasks across

all countries and continents between certain points

on the Earth's surface.

Mobile satellite systems

Mobile satellite systems help connect remote regions,

vehicles, ships, people and aircraft to other parts

of the world and/or other mobile or stationary

communications units, in addition to serving as

navigation systems.

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Scientific research satellites (commercial and non-

commercial)

Scientific research satellites provide us with

meteorological information, land survey data (e.g.

remote sensing), Amateur (HAM) Radio, and other

different scientific research applications such as

earth science, marine science, and atmospheric

research.

TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF SATELLITES

Anti-Satellite weapons/"Killer Satellites" are

satellites that are designed to destroy enemy

warheads, satellites, and other space assets.

Astronomical satellites are satellites used for

observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other

outer space objects.

Biosatellites are satellites designed to carry

living organisms, generally for scientific

experimentation.

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Fig 5: MILSTAR: A communication satellite. (Source: en.wikipedia.org/satellite)

Communications satellites are satellites stationed

in space for the purpose of telecommunications.

Modern communications satellites typically

use geosynchronous orbits, Molniya orbits or Low

Earth orbits.

Miniaturized satellites are satellites of unusually

low masses and small sizes. New classifications are

used to categorize these satellites: mini-satellite

(500–100 kg), microsatellite (below

100 kg), nanosatellite (below 10 kg).

Navigational satellites are satellites which use

radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile

receivers on the ground to determine their exact

location. The relatively clear line of sight

between the satellites and receivers on the ground,

combined with ever-improving electronics, allows

satellite navigation systems to measure location to

accuracies on the order of a few meters in real

time.

Reconnaissance satellites are Earth observation

satellite or communications satellite deployed

for military or intelligence applications. Very

little is known about the full power of these

satellites, as governments who operate them usually

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keep information pertaining to their reconnaissance

satellites classified.

Earth observation satellites are satellites

intended for non-military uses such

as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map

making etc. (See especially Earth Observing

System.)

Tether satellites are satellites which are

connected to another satellite by a thin cable

called a tether.

Weather satellites are primarily used to monitor

Earth's weather and climate.

Recovery satellites are satellites that provide a

recovery of reconnaissance, biological, space-

production and other payloads from orbit to Earth.

Manned spacecraft (spaceships) are large satellites

able to put humans into (and beyond) an orbit, and

return them to Earth. Spacecraft including space

planes of reusable systems have

major propulsion or landing facilities. They can be

used as transport to and from the orbital stations.

Space stations are man-made orbital structures that

are designed for human beings to live on in outer

space. A space station is distinguished from other

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manned spacecraft by its lack of major propulsion

or landing facilities. Space stations are designed

for medium-term living in orbit, for periods of

weeks, months, or even years.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SATLLITESNot so long ago, satellites were exotic, top-

secret devices. They were used primarily in a

military capacity, for activities such as navigation

and espionage. Now they are an essential part of our

daily lives. We see and recognize their use in

weather reports, television transmission by DIRECTV

and the DISH Network, and everyday telephone calls.

In many other instances, satellites play a background

role that escapes our notice:

Some newspapers and magazines are timelier because

they transmit their text and images to multiple

printing sites via satellite to speed local

distribution.

Before sending signals down the wire into our

houses, cable television depends on satellites to

distribute its transmissions.

The most reliable taxi and limousine drivers are

sometimes using the satellite-based Global

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Positioning System (GPS) to take us to the proper

destination.

The goods we buy often reach distributors and

retailers more efficiently and safely because

trucking firms track the progress of their vehicles

with the same GPS. Sometimes firms will even tell

their drivers that they are driving too fast.

Emergency radio beacons from downed aircraft and

distressed ships may reach search-and-rescue teams

when satellites relay the signal.

Despite the significant differences between all of

these satellites, they have several things in common.

For example:

All of them have a metal or composite frame and body,

usually known as the bus. The bus holds everything

together in space and provides enough strength to

survive the launch.

All of them have a source of power (usually solar

cells) and batteries for storage. Arrays of solar

cells provide power to charge rechargeable batteries.

Newer designs include the use of fuel cells. Power on

most satellites is precious and very

limited. Nuclear power has been used on space probes

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to other planets. Power systems are constantly

monitored, and data on power and all other onboard

systems is sent to Earth stations in the form of

telemetry signals.

All of them have an onboard computer to control and

monitor the different systems.

All of them have a radio system and antenna. At the

very least, most satellites have a radio

transmitter/receiver so that the ground-control crew

can request status information from the satellite and

monitor its health. Many satellites can be controlled

in various ways from the ground to do anything from

change the orbit to reprogram the computer system.

All of them have an attitude control system. The ACS

keeps the satellite pointed in the right direction.

The Hubble Space Telescope has a very elaborate

control system so that the telescope can point at the

same position in space for hours or days at a time

(despite the fact that the telescope travels at

17,000 mph/27,359 kph!). The system contains

gyroscopes, accelerometers, a reaction wheel

stabilization system, thrusters and a set of sensors

that watch guide stars to determine position.

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HOW SATELLITES WORK

Satellite Internet generally relies on three

primary components: a satellite in geostationary

orbit (sometimes referred to as a geosynchronous

Earth orbit, or GEO), a number of ground stations

known as gateways that relay Internet data to and

from the satellite via radio waves (microwave), and a

VSAT (very-small-aperture terminal) dish antenna with

a transceiver, located at the subscriber's premesis.

Other components of a satellite Internet system

include a modem at the user end which links the

user's network with the transceiver, and a

centralized network operations centre (NOC) for

monitoring the entire system. Working in concert with

a broadband gateway, the satellite operates a Star

network topology where all network communication

passes through the network's hub processor, which is

at the centre of the star. With this configuration,

the number of remote VSATs that can be connected to

the hub is virtually limitless.

Satellite

At the centre of the new broadband satellite networks

are a new generation of high-powered GEO satellites

positioned 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) above the

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equator, operating in Ka-band (18.3–30 GHz)

mode. These new purpose-built satellites are designed

and optimized for broadband applications, employing

many narrow spot beams, which target a much smaller

area than the broad beams used by earlier

communication satellites. This spot beam technology

allows satellites to reuse assigned bandwidth

multiple times, enabling them to achieve much higher

capacity than conventional broad beam satellites. The

spot beams also increase performance and

consequential capacity by focusing more power and

increased receiver sensitivity into concentrated

areas. Spot beams are designated as one of two types:

subscriber spot beams, which transmit to/from the

subscriber-side terminal, and gateway spot beams,

which transmit to/from a service provider ground

station.

In conjunction with the satellite’s spot-beam

technology, a bent- pipe architecture is employed in

the network in which the satellite functions as a

bridge in space, connecting two communication points

on the ground. The term “bent-pipe” is used to

describe the shape of the data path between sending

and receiving antennas, with the satellite positioned

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at the point of the bend. Simply put, the satellite’s

role in this network arrangement is to relay signals

from the end user’s terminal, to the ISP’s gateways,

and back again. The satellite receives, amplifies,

and redirects signals carried on a specific radio

frequency through a signal path called a transponder.

The satellite has its own set of antennas to receive

communication signals from Earth and to transmit

signals to their target location. These antennas and

transponders are part of the satellite’s “payload”,

which is designed to receive and transmit signals to

and from various places on Earth. What enables this

transmission and reception in the payload

transponders is a repeater subsystem (RF (radio

frequency) equipment) used to change frequencies,

filter, separate, amplify and group signals before

routing them to their destination address on Earth.

The satellite’s high-gain receiving antenna passes

the transmitted data to the transponder which

filters, translates and amplifies them, then

redirects them to the transmitting antenna on-board.

The signal is then routed to a specific ground

location through a channel known as a carrier. Beside

the payload, the other main component of a

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communications satellite is called the bus, which

comprises all equipment required to move the

satellite into position, supply power, regulate

equipment temperatures, provide health and tracking

information, and perform numerous other operational

tasks.

Gateways

Along with dramatic advances in satellite technology

over the past decade, ground equipment has similarly

evolved, benefiting from higher levels of integration

and increasing processing power, expanding both

capacity and performance boundaries. The Gateway—or

Gateway Earth Station (its full name)—is also

referred to as a ground station, teleport or hub. The

term is sometimes used to describe just the antenna

dish portion, or it can refer to the complete system

with all associated components. In short, the gateway

receives radio wave signals from the satellite on the

last leg of the return or upstream payload, carrying

the request originating from the end-user’s site. The

satellite modem at the gateway location demodulates

the incoming signal from the outdoor antenna into IP

packets and sends the packets to the local network.

Access server/gateways manage traffic transported

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to/from the Internet. Once the initial request has

been processed by the gateway’s servers, sent to and

returned from the Internet, the requested information

is sent back as a forward or downstream payload to

the end-user via the satellite, which directs the

signal to the subscriber terminal. Each Gateway

provides the connection to the Internet backbone for

the gateway spot-beam(s) it serves. The system of

gateways comprising the satellite ground system

provides all network services for satellite and

corresponding terrestrial connectivity. Each gateway

provides a multiservice access network for subscriber

terminal connections to the Internet. In the

continental United States, because it is north of the

equator, all gateway and subscriber dish antenna must

have an unobstructed view of the southern sky.

Because of the satellite’s geostationary orbit, the

gateway antenna can stay pointed at a fixed position.

Antenna dish/modem

For the Customer Provided Equipment (i.e. PC, router)

to access the broadband satellite network, the

customer must have additional physical components

installed:

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Outdoor Unit (ODU)

At the far-end of the outdoor unit is a small (2–3

foot diameter), reflective dish-type radio antenna

constructed from and coated with a variety of

materials. As indicated earlier, like the antenna

used by the gateway, the VSAT antenna must also have

an unobstructed view of the southern sky to allow for

proper Line-of-sight (L-O-S) to the satellite. There

are four characteristic settings used to ensure that

the antenna is configured correctly at the satellite,

which are: Azimuth, Elevation, Polarization,

and Skew. The combination of these settings gives the

outdoor unit a L-O-S to the chosen satellite and

makes data transmission possible. These parameters

are generally set at the time the equipment is

installed, along with a beam assignment (Ka-band

only); these steps must all be taken prior to the

actual activation of service. Transmit and receive

components are mounted at the focal point of the

antenna which receives/sends data from/to the

satellite. The main parts are:

Feed – This assembly is part of the VSAT receive

and transmit chain, which consists of several

components with different functions, including the30

feed horn at the front of the unit, which resembles

a funnel and has the task of focusing the satellite

microwave signals across the surface of the dish

reflector. The feed horn both receives signals

reflected off the dish’s surface and transmits

outbound signals back to the satellite.

Block upconverter (BUC) – This unit sits behind the

feed horn and may be part of the same unit, but a

larger (higher wattage) BUC could be a separate

piece attached to the base of the antenna. Its job

is to convert the signal from the modem to a higher

frequency and amplify it before it is reflected off

the dish and towards the satellite.

Low-noise block downconverter (LNB) – This is the

receiving element of the terminal. The LNB’s job is

to amplify the received satellite radio signal

bouncing off the dish and filter out the noise,

which is any signal not carrying valid information.

The LNB passes the amplified, filtered signal to

the satellite modem at the user’s location.

Indoor Unit (IDU)

The Satellite Modem serves as an interface between

the outdoor unit and customer provided equipment

(i.e. PC, router) and controls satellite transmission

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and reception. From the sending device (computer,

router, etc.) it receives an input Bitstream and

converts or modulates it into radio waves, reversing

that order for incoming transmissions, which is

called Demodulation. It provides two types of

connectivity:

Coaxial cable (COAX) connectivity to the satellite

antenna. The cable carrying electromagnetic

satellite signals between the modem and the antenna

generally is limited to be no more than 150 feet in

length.

Ethernet connectivity to the computer, carrying the

customer’s data packets to and from the Internet

content servers.

Satellite modems employ either the DOCSIS (Data Over

Cable Service Interface Specification) or WiMAX

(World Interoperability for Microwave Access)

telecommunication standard to communicate with the

assigned gateway.

SATELLITE NAVIGATIONA satellite navigation or sat nav system is a

system of satellites that provide autonomous geo-

spatial positioning with global coverage. It allows

small electronic receivers to determine their32

location (longitude, latitude, and altitude) to

within a few metres using time signals transmitted

along aline-of-sight by radio from satellites.

Receivers calculate the precise time as well as

position, which can be used as a reference for

scientific experiments. A satellite navigation system

with global coverage may be termed a global

navigation satellite system or GNSS.

SATELLITE INTERNET ACCESSSatellite Internet access is Internet

access provided through satellites. Modern satellite

Internet service is typically provided to users

world-wide through geostationary satellites that can

offer high data speeds, with the latest satellites

achieving speeds up to 18 Mbps.

SATELLITE TELEVISION

Satellite television is television

programming delivered by the means of communications

satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually

a parabolic reflector generally referred to as

a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is

concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of

an external set-top box or a satellite tuner module

built into a TV set. Satellite TV tuners are also

33

available as a card or a USB peripheral to be

attached to a personal computer. In many areas of the

world satellite television provides a wide range of

channels and services, often to areas that are not

serviced by terrestrial or cable providers.

Direct-broadcast satellite television comes to the

general public in two distinct flavors - analog and

digital. This necessitates either having an analog

satellite receiver or a digital satellite receiver.

Analog satellite television is being replaced by

digital satellite television and the latter is

becoming available in a better quality known as high-

definition television.

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

A communications satellite or comsat is an

artificial satellite sent to space for the purpose

of telecommunications. Modern communications

satellites use a variety of orbits

including geostationary orbits, Molniya

orbits, elliptical orbits and low (polar and non-

polar Earth orbits).

For fixed (point-to-point) services,

communications satellites provide a microwave radio

relay technology complementary to that of34

communication cables. They are also used for mobile

applications such as communications to ships,

vehicles, planes and hand-held terminals, and for TV

and radio broadcasting.

CYBERWAR (CYBERTERRORISM)Actions by a nation-state, an individual or group

of persons to penetrate another nation’s or human’s

computers or networks for the purposes of causing

damage or disruption are termed cyberwar. Moreover,

according to Wikipedia.org, U.S. government security

expert Richard A. Clarke, in his book Cyber War (May

2010), defines "cyberwarfare (also known as

cyberwar)" as “actions by a nation-state to

penetrate another nation's computers or networks for

the purposes of causing damage or disruption.”

Richard A. Clarke streamlined his definition to a

nation. Cyberspace is recognised as a new domain in

warfare which has become just as critical to military

operations as on land, sea, air, and space.

According to The Lipman Report in

www.en.wikipedia.org/cyberwarfare, numerous key

sectors of the U.S. economy along with that of other

nations, are currently at risk, including cyber

threats to public and private facilities, banking and

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finance, transportation, manufacturing, medical,

education and government, all of which are now

dependent on computers for daily operations. The

aforementioned education/research, Wikipedia.org,

also states that, The Economist writes that China has

plans of "winning informationised wars by the mid-

21st century". They note that other countries are

likewise organizing for cyberwar, among them Russia,

Israel and North Korea. Iran boasts of having the

world's second-largest cyber-army. It is the duty of

every nation and individual to protect themselves

from cyberwar as Michael Hayden - former deputy

director of national intelligence on July 2010 Black

Hat computer security conference, challenged

thousands of attendees to help devise ways to

"reshape the Internet's security architecture’.

Methods of satellites attack

Cyberwarfare consists of many

different threats: Clapper divides these into cyber

espionage and cyberattacks, the latter of which he

defines as the top security threat to the United

States.

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1.Espionage and national security breaches

Cyber espionage is the act or practice of obtaining

secrets (sensitive, proprietary or classified

information) from individuals, competitors, rivals,

groups, governments and enemies also for military,

political, or economic advantage using illegal

exploitation methods on internet, networks, software

and or computers. Classified information that is not

handled securely can be intercepted and even

modified, making espionage possible from the other

side of the world. Specific attacks on the United

States have been given codenames like Titan

Rain and Moonlight Maze. General Alexander notes that

the recently established Cyber Command is currently

trying to determine whether such activities as

commercial espionage or theft of intellectual

property are criminal activities or actual "breaches

of national security."

2.Sabotage

Computers and satellites that coordinate other

activities are vulnerable components of a system and

could lead to the disruption of equipment.

Compromisation of military systems, such

asC4ISTAR components that are responsible for orders

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and communications could lead to their interception

or malicious replacement. Power, water, fuel,

communications, and transportation infrastructure all

may be vulnerable to disruption. According to Clarke,

the civilian realm is also at risk, noting that the

security breaches have already gone beyond stolen

credit card numbers, and that potential targets can

also include the electric power grid, trains, or the

stock market.

In mid July 2010, security experts discovered a

malicious software program called Stuxnet that had

infiltrated factory computers and had spread to

plants around the world. It is considered "the first

attack on critical industrial infrastructure that

sits at the foundation of modern economies," notes The

New York Times.

Denial-of-service attack

In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack)

or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack)

is an attempt to make a machine or network resource

unavailable to its intended users. Perpetrators of

DoS attacks typically target sites or services hosted

on high-profile web servers such as banks, credit

card payment gateways, and even root nameservers. DoS38

attacks may not be limited to computer-based methods,

as strategic physical attacks against infrastructure

can be just as devastating. For example, cutting

undersea communication cables may severely cripple

some regions and countries with regards to their

information warfare ability.

Electrical power grid

The federal government of the United States admits

that the electric power transmission is susceptible

to cyberwarfare. The United States Department of

Homeland Security works with industry to

identify vulnerabilities and to help industry enhance

the security of control system networks, the federal

government is also working to ensure that security is

built in as the next generation of "smart grid"

networks are developed. In April 2009, reports

surfaced that China and Russia had infiltrated the

U.S. electrical grid and left behind software

programs that could be used to disrupt the system,

according to current and former national security

officials. The North American Electric Reliability

Corporation (NERC) has issued a public notice that

warns that the electrical grid is not adequately

protected from cyber attack. China denies intruding

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into the U.S. electrical

grid. One countermeasure would be to disconnect the

power grid from the Internet and run the net

with droop speed control only. Massive power

outages caused by a cyber attack could disrupt the

economy, distract from a simultaneous military

attack, or create a national trauma.

Howard Schmidt, Cyber-Security Coordinator of the US,

commented on those possibilities:

It’s possible that hackers have gotten into

administrative computer systems of utility companies,

but says those aren’t linked to the equipment

controlling the grid, at least not in developed

countries. [Schmidt] has never heard that the grid

itself has been hacked.

HOW SATELLITES HELP TO FIGHT CYBERWARFrom the aforementioned, the functions of

satellites help to combat cyberwar. As said earlier,

satellites that helps in communication and earth

surveillance, reports through their signals any

noticeable activities of cyberterrorist. This calls

for a strong space policing and a strong anti-

cyberwar team.

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Also, anti-Satellite weapons/"Killer

Satellites" are designed to destroy enemy warheads,

satellites, and other space assets.

Moreover, Space Surveillance Network is required.

According to Wikipedia.org, ‘The United States Space

Surveillance Network (SSN), a division of The United

States Strategic Command, has been tracking objects

in Earth's orbit since 1957 when the Soviets opened

the space age with the launch of Sputnik I. Since

then, the SSN has tracked more than 26,000 objects.

The SSN currently tracks more than 8,000 man-made

orbiting objects. The rest have re-entered Earth's

atmosphere and disintegrated, or survived re-entry

and impacted the Earth. The SSN tracks objects that

are 10 centimetres in diameter or larger; those now

orbiting Earth range from satellites weighing several

tons to pieces of spent rocket bodies weighing only

10 pounds. About seven percent are operational

satellites (i.e. ~560 satellites), the rest are space

debris. The United States Strategic Command is

primarily interested in the active satellites, but

also tracks space debris which upon re-entry might

otherwise be mistaken for incoming missiles.

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A search of the NSSDC Master Catalog at the end of

October 2010 listed 6,578 satellites launched into

orbit since 1957, the latest being Chang'e 2, on 1

October 2010.’

ADVANTAGES OF SATELLITES

Below are a summary of the advantages of

satellites as they have been explained in the

preceding sub-topic – functions of satellite. They

are:

1.Security – anti-satellite weapon and military

satellites amongst others help to provide

security to many nations as well as individuals

and organisations.

2.Observation – the earth, other planets and every

orbital object are monitored by earth

observation/surveillance satellites.

3.Communication – internet, digital television and

internet radio are aided by communication

satellites.

4.Investigation – crime done by terrorist and

criminals are checked by satellites, notably the

recent bomb blast in the U.S. (Boston precisely).

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5.Navigation – navigation on the globe, instant

locating of a place and GPS are facilitated by

satellites.

6.Forecasting – earth quake forecasting as well as

weather forecasting are done comfortably with the

aid of satellites.

7.Research – most research are aided by the use of

satellites.

8.Business – business and on line transactions are

done by satellites. It provides a vast

representation of firms and products.

DISADVANTAGES/LIMITATIONS OF SATELLITES

The limitations and/or disadvantages of

satellites are highlighted below:

43

1.Signal latency - Latency is the delay between

requesting data and the receipt of a response, or

in the case of one-way communication, between the

actual moment of a signal's broadcast and the

time it is received at its destination. Latency

is the main difference between a standard

terrestrial based network and a geostationary

satellite network.

2.Geostationary unsuitable for low-latency

applications - All geostationary satellite

communications experience high latency due to the

signal having to travel 35,786 km (22,236 mi) to

a satellite in geostationary orbit and back to

Earth again. Even at the speed of light (about

300,000 km/s or 186,000 miles per second), this

delay can be significant. If all other signalling

delays could be eliminated, it still takes a

radio signal about 250 milliseconds (ms), or

about a quarter of a second, to travel to the

satellite and back to the ground.

44

3.Acceptable latencies, but lower speeds, of lower

orbits - Unlike geostationary satellites, low and

medium Earth orbit satellites do not stay in a

fixed position in the sky. Consequently, ground

based antennas cannot be easily locked into

communication with any one specific satellite.

Communications may involve more diffuse or

completely omni-directional ground antennas

capable of communicating with one or more

satellites visible in the sky at the same time,

but at significantly higher transmit power than

fixed geostationary dish antennas, and with much

poorer signal to noise ratios for receiving the

signal.

4.Rain fade - Satellite communications are affected

by moisture and various forms of precipitation

(such as rain or snow) in the signal path between

end users or ground stations and the satellite

being utilized. This interference with the signal

is known as rain fade.

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5.Line of sight - Typically a completely clear line

of sight between the dish and the satellite is

required for the system to work. In addition to

the signal being susceptible to absorption and

scattering by moisture, the signal is similarly

impacted by the presence of trees and other

vegetation in the path of the signal. As the

radio frequency decreases, to below 900 MHz,

penetration through vegetation increases, but

most satellite communications operate above 2 GHz

making them sensitive to even minor obstructions

such as tree foliage. A dish installation in the

winter must factor in plant foliage growth that

will appear in the spring and summer.

CONCLUSION

SUMMARY

RECOMMENDATION

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REFERENCEhttp://www.howstuffworks.com/satellite.htm, accessed

on 16/06/2013

http://science.howstuffworks.com/satellite1.htm,

accessed on 15/06/2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_navigation,

accessed on 16/06/13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Satellite_Internet_access, accessed on 16/06/13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_television,

accessed on 16/06/13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Communications_satellite, accessed on 16/06/13

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