Free satellite tracking software poses threat to satellites, researchers say

A group of scientists claim that satellite tracking software freely available on the Internet, some textbook physics as well as access to an intermediate range rocket are sufficient to attack military or civilian satellites.

While the claims remain unclear in details Adrian Gheorghe of Old Dominion University Norfolk and Dan Vamanu of the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, in Bucharest, Romania, say they have created a computer model, which suggests that such an attack would require modest engineering capability and only a limited budget.

The researchers claim that even a critical component of such an attack, the technology to control a missile, would be able to be provided by a team with college-level education. Gheorghe and Vamanu concluded that military and civilian satellites need to be equipped with “protection” to reduce the threat potential of such attacks.