Security Checklist for Spacecraft Ground Software

Ground software is the interface between mission operators and spacecraft. A mistake or breach on the ground side can compromise mission objectives, data integrity, and safety. This checklist provides prioritized actions and practical advice for teams building or operating ground software, whether you’re a university lab launching a CubeSat or a company operating multiple ground stations.

Principles

Design your security posture around three principles:

• Least privilege: Services and operators should have the minimum permissions they need.
• Defense in depth: Multiple layers of controls reduce single points of failure.
• Observable and auditable: Troves of logs and traces help diagnose issues and validate integrity.

Checklist

1. Secrets management

   Use a dedicated secrets manager (not environment files). Rotate credentials regularly and use transient credentials for operator consoles. For hardware with embedded modules, use hardware-backed key storage where possible.

2. Authentication and authorization

   Require multi-factor authentication for operator accounts. Implement role-based access controls (RBAC) and log all privilege escalation attempts.

3. Telemetry integrity

   Sign telemetry at the source and validate signatures downstream. Include sequence numbers and nonces to prevent replay attacks. Keep cryptographic keys secure and audited.

4. Network segmentation

   Isolate ground control systems from general developer networks. Use firewalls and VPNs for remote operator access. Separate public telemetry ingestion endpoints from control command paths.

5. Supply chain validation

   Pin dependencies and use reproducible builds for software deployed to ground systems. Scan for known vulnerabilities and require signatures for critical packages.

6. Code and configuration audits

   Review code, CI/CD configurations, and deployment scripts. Look for secrets embedded in commits and enforce pre-commit hooks and scanning in CI pipelines.

7. Operational safeguards

   Implement canarying for command uplinks: start with a low-privilege verification step before enabling a sequence of commands. Use feature flags to gate risky operations.

8. Monitoring and alerting

   Monitor both system health and suspicious operational patterns: unusual command sequences, failed authentication attempts, and unexpected telemetry patterns. Configure automated escalation procedures.

9. Incident response and forensics

   Maintain an incident playbook with clear responsibilities and communication channels. Practice tabletop drills. Preserve forensic logs (immutable where possible) to enable investigation after an event.

10. Physical security

    Secure ground station access, racks, and operator consoles. Use tamper-evident enclosures for critical hardware and maintain audit logs for physical access.

Implementation tips

Small teams can get overwhelmed. Prioritize:

1. Start with secrets and MFA.
2. Make telemetry signing mandatory for everything that matters.
3. Automate dependency scanning and code signing in CI.

Case in point

A university ground team we worked with instituted mandatory telemetry signing and a simple RBAC model. When a misconfigured script started broadcasting test commands, the RBAC system rejected it and an alert allowed the ops lead to revoke access within minutes — a near-miss that would have been costly without these controls.

Conclusion

Security for ground software is an ongoing process. Apply the checklist, iterate, and practice incident response. The combination of procedural and technical controls reduces risk and builds operational resilience for your missions.