Space Odyssey presents an experimental security analysis of satellites.
Satellites have contributed significantly
to how we live today, most notably through modern
telecommunications, global positioning, and Earth observation.
Yet, little academic research has been conducted on satellite security
and in particular on the security of onboard firmware.
To this end, we analyzed the onboard firmware of three
real-world satellites and uncovered 13 vulnerabilities
that, combined, allow attackers to fully take over two of the three satellites.
To broaden the scope of our analysis, we surveyed 19 professional satellite
developers and confirmed that many of our results apply beyond our case studies.
Finally, we integrated our insights into satellite architectures and threats
into a taxonomy that allows us to derive case-specific specific insights.
We hope this work will be a starting point
for studying satellite security and privacy aspects in the New Space era.