The emergence of global internet access from the low Earth orbit (LEO) comes with cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Under international space law regimes, the concept of cybersecurity in outer space remains ambiguous. Furthermore, cyberattacks affecting the era’s thoroughly segregated computer space systems were unimagined. Cyber borders are not the same as physical borders. Cyberspace does not admit the demarcation of territorial sovereignty, as it is not based on physical location, and assigning territorial sovereignty to cyberspace is time-consuming. This research proposes the concept of a multi-stakeholder international legal regime for space cybersecurity, as establishing cybersecurity standards and risk management mechanisms necessitates technical measures and a regulatory framework. International cooperation is the only way to provide a fully coordinated approach to cyberspace protection which is consistent with the fundamental premise of international cooperation and collaboration in space.

The ground tracking support is a critical factor for the navigation performance of spacecraft orbiting around the Moon. Because of the tracking limit of antennas, only a small number of facilities can support lunar missions. Therefore, case studies for various ground tracking support conditions are needed for lunar missions on the stage of preliminary mission analysis. This study analyzes the ground supporting condition effect on orbit determination (OD) of Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) in the lunar orbit. For the assumption of ground support conditions, daily tracking frequency, cut-off angle for low elevation, tracking measurement accuracy, and tracking failure situations were considered. Two antennas of deep space network (DSN) and Korea Deep Space Antenna (KDSA) are utilized for various tracking conditions configuration. For the investigation of the daily tracking frequency effect, three cases (full support, DSN 4 pass/day and KDSA 4 pass/day, and DSN 2 pass/day and KDSA 2 pass/day) are prepared. For the elevation cut-off angle effect, two situations, which are 5 deg and 10 deg, are assumed. Three cases (0%, 30%, and 50% of degradation) were considered for the tracking measurement accuracy effect. Three cases such as no missing, 1-day KDSA missing, and 2-day KDSA missing are assumed for tracking failure effect. For OD, a sequential estimation algorithm was used, and for the OD performance evaluation, position uncertainty, position differences between true and estimated orbits, and orbit overlap precision according to various ground supporting conditions were investigated. Orbit prediction accuracy variations due to ground tracking conditions were also demonstrated. This study provides a guideline for selecting ground tracking support levels and preparing a backup plan for the KPLO lunar mission phase.

In this study, the observational arc-length effect on orbit determination (OD) for the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) in the Earth-Moon Transfer phase was investigated. For the OD, we employed a sequential estimation using the extended Kalman filter and a fixed-point smoother. The mission periods, comprised between the perigee maneuvers (PM) and the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver in a 3.5 phasing loop of the KPLO, was the primary target. The total period was divided into three phases: launch–PM1, PM1–PM3, and PM3–LOI. The Doppler and range data obtained from three tracking stations [included in the deep space network (DSN) and Korea Deep Space Antenna (KDSA)] were utilized for the OD. Six arc-length cases (24 hrs, 48 hrs, 60 hrs, 3 days, 4 days, and 5 days) were considered for the arc-length effect investigation. In order to evaluate the OD accuracy, we analyzed the position uncertainties, the precision of orbit overlaps, and the position differences between true and estimated trajectories. The maximum performance of 3-day OD approach was observed in the case of stable flight dynamics operations and robust navigation capability. This study provides a guideline for the flight dynamics operations of the KPLO in the trans-lunar phase.

Pc1 pulsations are geomagnetic fluctuations in the frequency range of 0.2 to 5 Hz. There have been several observations of Pc1 pulsations in low earth orbit by MAGSAT, DE-2, Viking, Freja, CHAMP, and SWARM satellites. However, there has been a clear limitation in resolving the spatial and temporal variations of the pulsation by using a single-point observation by a single satellite. To overcome such limitations of previous observations, a new space mission was recently initiated, using the concept of multi-satellites, named the Small scale magNetospheric and Ionospheric Plasma Experiments (SNIPE). The SNIPE mission consists of four nanosatellites (~10 kg), which will be launched into a polar orbit at an altitude of 600 km (TBD) in 2020. Four satellites will be deployed in orbit, and the distances between each satellite will be controlled from 10 to 1,000 km by a highend formation-flying algorithm. One of the possible science targets of the SNIPE mission is observing electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. In this paper, we report on examples of observations, showing the limitations of previous EMIC observations in low earth orbit, and suggest possibilities to overcome those limitations through a new mission.

This paper intends to highlight the effect of the third-body in an inclined orbit on a spacecraft orbiting the primary mass. To achieve this goal, a new origin of coordinate is introduced in the primary and the X-axis toward the node of the spacecraft. The disturbing function is expanded up to the second order using Legendre polynomials. A double-averaged analytical model is exploited to produce the evolutions of mean orbital elements as smooth curves.

In this paper we examine a total of 16 dipolarization events that were observed by THEMIS spacecraft in space close togeosynchronous orbit, r < ~ 7 RE. For the identified events, we examine the characteristics of the plasma flows and associatedbubbles as defined based on pV5/3, where p is the plasma pressure and V the volume of unit magnetic flux. First, we find thatthe flow speed in the near-geosynchronous region is very low, mostly within a few tens of km/s, except for a very few events forwhich the flow can rise up to ~200 km/s but only very near the dipolarization onset time. Second, the bubble parameter, pV5/3,decreases by a much smaller factor after the dipolarization onset than for the events in the farther out tail region. We suggestthat the magnetic dipolarization in the near-geosynchronous region generates or is associated with only very weak plasmabubbles. Such bubbles in the near-geosynchronous region would penetrate earthward only by a small distance before theystop at an equilibrium position or drift around the Earth.

An integrated orbit and attitude control algorithm for satellite formation flying was developed, and an integrated orbit and attitude software-in-the-loop (SIL) simulator was also developed to test and verify the integrated control algorithm. The integrated algorithm includes state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) control algorithm and PD feedback control algorithm as orbit and attitude controller respectively and configures the two algorithms with an integrating effect. The integrated SIL simulator largely comprises an orbit SIL simulator for orbit determination and control, and attitude SIL simulator for attitude determination and control. The two SIL simulators were designed considering the performance and characteristics of related hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulators and were combined into the integrated SIL simulator. To verify the developed integrated SIL simulator with the integrated control algorithm, an orbit simulation and integrated orbit and attitude simulation were performed for a formation reconfiguration scenario using the orbit SIL simulator and the integrated SIL simulator, respectively. Then, the two simulation results were compared and analyzed with each other. As a result, the user satellite in both simulations achieved successful formation reconfiguration, and the results of the integrated simulation were closer to those of actual satellite than the orbit simulation. The integrated orbit and attitude control algorithm verified in this study enables us to perform more realistic orbit control for satellite formation flying. In addition, the integrated orbit and attitude SIL simulator is able to provide the environment of easy test and verification not only for the existing diverse orbit or attitude control algorithms but also for integrated orbit and attitude control algorithms.