When a damaged satellite is in orbit, the usual thing is to think about a space mission to solve the problem. But These operations usually involve traveling to space or even the intervention of astronauts.which requires a significant investment of time, money and effort.
However, a German hacker named PistonMiner has shown that it is not always necessary go on a mission to repair a satellite. Surprisingly, this person managed to reactivate a satellite that had been inoperative since 2013, hacking it from Earth.
BeeSAT-1, a cubesat developed by the Technical University of Berlin and launched in 2009, was designed as an experimental project to demonstrate that smaller satellites could use advanced technologies, just like large models.
However, in 2013, the small satellite began sending erroneous data to Earthwhich made its use difficult. Shortly after, its backup system also failed, rendering it inoperable. Experts blamed solar radiation, which was believed to have damaged electronic components.
A software error, not a physical failure
PistonMiner, after analyzing the failure, discovered that the problem was not related to physical damage, but to an error in the software code of the damaged satellite. This caused the transmitted data to be unusable.
Identifying this cause was a great advance, but solving it was not a simple task, since BeeSAT-1 did not have the ability to receive remote updates.
The hacker found a vulnerability in the satellite code, specifically in the system used to process commands sent from Earth. This vulnerability allowed him to access the system and fix the faulty code without physically being in orbit.
Repairing BeeSAT-1 was not an easy task. The satellite orbited the Earth at an altitude of 700 kilometers, passing over Berlin every 90 minutes. However, the time available to connect to it was limited: PistonMiner had only 15 minutes in each orbit to send the necessary commands.
This short time frame required precise execution. After multiple attempts, the hacker managed to transmit the appropriate commands and correct the error in the software code. As a result, it was possible to reactivate a satellite that had been considered lost since 2013.
Repairing a damaged satellite from Earth not only represents significant resource savingsbut also demonstrates the importance of designing space systems that can be managed and repaired remotely.
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Tags: Curiosities, hackers