Dateline: April 7 2030
It’s getting pretty crowded up there, in low earth orbit, with thousands of commercial communications satellites, and whole constellations of internet microsats. Then there are the many military “birds” whose primary mission is to spy on the enemy, whoever that might be, but we’re not supposed to talk about them.
The Space Force has to know about all of them, to ensure that the collision avoidance system — driven by artificial intelligence — keeps them safely apart. Even a minor space crash could trigger debris that snowballs into the dreaded Kessler Syndrome.
But there is nowhere to hide in space, and every nation’s satellites are plainly visible, and their movements tracked. Which is where the hacking comes in. It’s one thing to know your enemy’s position, but even more useful to know what they are looking at. With powerful cameras being so small and cheap nowadays, even Starlink minisats can spy if they want to.
If you are the hacker, once you have infiltrated a satellite network, you take great pains to cover your tracks. Like traditional spying, most of the advantage is lost the minute you are detected. Unless they actually attack you; then you can boast how weak their cyber defences are, and put them at a disadvantage.
On the other hand, with all the commercial satellites in orbit, it is hardly necessary to hack. For the right price you can buy super hi-res images direct from the operators and contract for real-time feeds, day or night. With a nondisclosure agreement in place, of course. Unless you are a pariah state, and subject to universal sanctions.
Yes, wars in space are not about weapons. They are about data and intelligence, and they are fought in cyberspace.
- Published on April 14 2022
Send your phone into space
Home-made spy satellites are all the rage
Dateline: October 10 2015
More and more people are “going” into space on a shoestring — and controlling their very own spy satellites from their iPads.
Like 3D printing, the idea of building your own picosatellite began with science students and hobbyists, but now consumers are getting into the act.
At a fraction of the price of a ticket on Virgin Galactic, you can order a tiny satellite online, or just download the designs and build it yourself. With a built-in webcam, you can watch the launch in real time, and see the earth from orbit, as if you were on board the Space Station.
SpaceX is the most popular launch service for these do-it-yourself orbiting gizmos, with a website for group bookings.
One popular kit, called the “Galaxy Space Pod”, requires just the addition of any Android smartphone to become a fully fledged spy satellite — and you control it. We all know what happens when you upgrade to the latest phone — the old one lies in the cupboard, unused, for years; now you can launch it into orbit instead.
Stephen Fry was one of the first to join this craze — so that he could send Tweets from outer space! Jeremy Clarkson was quick to follow suit, so that he could update his Facebook page while travelling at 27,500km/h.
On the downside, after a few months your spy satellite loses orbital velocity and plunges into the atmosphere in a fiery finale. But that’s OK, you can always do it again, if you’ve got an old phone lying about…
- Published on September 20 2012
• Despite appearances to the contrary, Futureworld cannot and does not predict the future. The Mindbullets scenarios are fictitious and designed purely to explore possible futures, and challenge and stimulate strategic thinking.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.