Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against
high-altitude-nuclear-explosions (HANE)
OHB System AG
Johan Ideström, Space Radiation Environment Analyst
ESWW 2018 Leuven, 8th November 2018
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Motivation for this topical discussion meeting
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USA, Russia have nuclear harden military satellites, maybe even China(?)
In Europe only military satellites from UK, France and Italy are nuclear harden
Spain is currently working on it
Germany has currently no nuclear harden satellites
Germany military (BW) has two communications satellites, BW-SATCOM 1 and 2
A third, BW-SACOM-3, will be build in the future
There are 3 satellite manufactures in Europe: Airbus, TAS, OHB
OHB counts as a German company and is the preferred partner for German military
Airbus and TAS build nuclear hardened satellites, OHB never did it
The German military might consider to order nuclear hardened satellites in the future
NATO standard AEP-50: „Space and Nuclear Radiation Hardening Guidelines for Military
Satellites: Electronics and Photonics” is applicable for all satellites in the CP-130 program
If German military wants to provide their satellites to NATO CP-130 then AEP-50 is applicable
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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space environment challenges counter measurements
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extreme
Space
Weather
eventssynergy
High
Altitude
Nuclear
Explosions
Electrical
Propulsion
Orbit
Raising
Awareness(Specifications)
Protection(Hardening)
Mitigation
(Deterrent)
Measurements(Sensors)
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Satellite missions are facing new challenges:
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all future (telecom) satellites will use Electrical Propulsion Orbit Raising (EPOR)
Instead of chemical GTO of 14 days, expect electrical GTO of 142~387 days
Total dose example: 200 days EPOR GTO = 6.7 years GEO
Literature: [Horne and Pitchford, Space Weather Concerns for All-Electric (2015)]
150% total dose during mission lifetime of a satellite:
up to 50 % during EPOR GTO
100 % during 15 years in GEO
Not enough data of EPOR GTO region in the models = high uncertainties
Extreme SW events:
Carrington (1859), Quebec (1989), Halloween (2003), CME near miss to Earth (2012)
Literature: [Extreme space weather - impacts on engineered systems and infrastructure(2013)]
High-Altitude-Nuclear- Explosion (HANE): EMP & Radiation belt pumping
Literature: [Collateral Damage to Satellites from an EMP Attack (2010)]
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
15th European Space Weather, 5th-9th November 2018, Leuven, Belgium
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Natural and man-made threats against satellies
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Natrual threats:
Space Weather (Carrington event)
Meteoroids
Atomic oxygen
Natural radiation from the radiation belts, the sun, and cosmic rays
Man-made threats:
Space debris
Jamming
Cyber hacking
Artifical radiation from HANE
Electro magnetic pulse from HANE
This presentation will continue to look more detailed into high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
(HANE)
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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high-altitude-nuclear-explosions from 1958 to 1962
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Starfish Prime
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1.4 mega tons TNT-equivalent explosion
altitude of 400km
produced an EMP much higher than expected
drove much of the instrumentation off scale
artificial auroral lights in Hawaii (1445km away)
knocking out about 300 streetlights
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
09.July.1962
Starfish Prime
1.4Mt nuclear explosion in 400 km
10.July.1962
Start of Telstar into MEO orbit
(952km), the first telecom satellite
32 satellites in earth orbit at the
same time like Starfish Prime
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
• 8 satellites have been damaged
by Starfish Prime
• of those 7 satellites malfunctioned
within months after Starfish Prime
• 8 of 32 satellites corresponds 25%
of all satellites in earth orbit
• 2018:
• 1181 satellites in LEO
• 25% = 295 satellites• (Union of Concerned Scientists Satellite database,
includes launches through 30th April 2018)
• The satellites back then used 60‘s
electronics, mondern satellites are
now much more sensitive
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Overview of effects of nuclear explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Environments Created By a High-Altitude Nuclear Detonation
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Direct Weapon Emissions
Photons
X-rays
Prompt Gamma Rays
Energetic Particles
Neutrons
Debris Ions
Induced Environments
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)
Energetic Particles
Energetic Heavy Ions
Delayed Gamma Rays
(Delayed) Beta Particles
Nuclear-Pumped Radiation Belts and Other Beta-Particle Effects
Photoemissions Other Than X-rays and Gamma Rays
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
15th European Space Weather, 5th-9th November 2018, Leuven, Belgium
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Radiation effects on satellites
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instantaneous radiated effects
caused by massive emission of neutrons, X photons, Gamma rays
system damage or destruction following high dose rate events
single-event-effects: upset, latch-up or burn out
System Generated Electro Magnetic Pulse (SGEMP)
only satellites in line-of-sight are affected
effects diminish with 1/r² (inverse-square law)
delayed and persisting radiated effects
affect all geostationary satellites
scintillation effect (ionosphere disturbance), disruption of GPS
electronic enhancement of the Earth belt with trapped electrons
radiation belt pumping = additional total dose
Additional electrons follow the magnetic field lines
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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radiation belt pumping
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Orbit Volume of
L-shell
Added
total dose
Duration of
additional
total dose
Direct
attack:
required
rocket range
Indirect
attack:
required
latitude
LEO small large years 600 km 0° ~ 25°
MEO medium medium months 18000 km 45°~ 60°
GEO large small weeks 36000 km 55° ~ 70°
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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EMP Conclusions
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All satellites, regardless of orbit, are vulnerable to direct attack
Ground control stations for satellites are subject to direct attack by EMP or any other means
An attack on MEO or GEO satellites by high latitude detonations for the purpose of populating
electron belts at those altitudes would require large yields (> 10 Mt)
Satellites in MEO or GEO are not at risk to immediate loss from radiation damage resulting
from a credible EMP attack anywhere on Earth
All satellites in LEO are at risk to serious damage from line-of-sight or enhanced radiation belt
exposure resulting from EMP attacks over many geographical locations of the Earth
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
15th European Space Weather, 5th-9th November 2018, Leuven, Belgium
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Cold War versus Satellite Age
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
Cold War Satellite Age
Nuclear Deterrence Satellite Deterrence
Mutal Assured Destruction Mutal Assured Vurnability
Nuclear Winter Dead Zones
(radiation belt pumping / Kessler Syndrome)
cities are hostages in a nuclear war satellites are hostages in a space war
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
HANE
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NATO mutual defence trigger in space ?
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Article 5 = Casus foederis (mutal defense trigger)
Article 6 = For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is
deemed to include an armed attack… on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North
America … in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer …
The following places are not covered by Article 5 and Article 6:
Hawaii
Guam
French-Guayana
Falkland Islands
LEO
MEO
GEO
Moon
Mars
Ganymede
LEO lays outside of the NATO member nations' territories = no mutual defence trigger
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Threat scenario through North-Korean HANE
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North-Korea performed so far only under ground nuclear tests
It has to prove that it can perform nuclear explosions as well above ground
Exo-atmospheric test is much cleaner than surface test
Scenario: North-Korea performs a test in the Pacific in international no-man‘s land
HANE explosion in LEO
Demonstration of nuclear capability, and no human has been harmed
If no human has been harmed = no retaliatory attack
HANE in LEO = no NATO mutual defence trigger
All satellites in LEO are affected
direct effect: destruction of satellites
indirect effect: life span of other satellites is shorten massively
perfect for North-Korea which owns no satellites on their own
typical asymmetric conflict
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
15th European Space Weather, 5th-9th November 2018, Leuven, Belgium
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Strategies for nuclear hardening of satellites
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No retrofit upgrade of old satellite designs
New design with nuclear hardening in mind from the beginning
Higher radiation requirements in the specifications:
make AEP-50 applicable (or other standard if AEP-50 is not available)
more demanding space environment definition (dose-depth-curve and so on)
mandatory usage of RadHard EEE-parts
mandatory usage of spot shielding for all EEE-parts
mandatory sensor/monitor for total dose and charging
shielding analysis: mandatory use of Monte-Carlo calculations instead of ray-tracing
Optimization of the satellite architecture:
Usage of a „radiation vault“ where all units are placed in
low-Z/high-Z/low-Z graded shielding (e.g. high-Z coating on Aluminium panels)
EMP-hardening: “nuclear event” detector & quick turn-off / turn-on process
for direct effects: a “sacrifice skin” to absorb the energy and impact of the direct explosion
Paradox: LEO is most affected, but nuclear hardening is only considered for GEO
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
15th European Space Weather, 5th-9th November 2018, Leuven, Belgium
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Conclusion
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GEO satellites are more affected from HANE than LEO satellites
Nuclear hardening of GEO satellites is cheaper than hardening of LEO satellites
With only 5/10/20/? % additional cost you can shield the satellite against most effects
In GEO are indirect effects much more likely than direct effects
Space environment sensors/monitors for total dose and charging are absolutely necessary
With a total dose sensor (external & internal) you can measure how much additional
radiation you are exposed to after a HANE and you don‘t need to guess
Synergy effects in hardening, by harden against
Space Weather(Halloween storm 2003, Carrington Event 1859)
HANE
Electrical propulsion orbit raising (EPOR)
Worst case scenario:
HANE during a 200 days EPOR period („sitting duck slow moving duck scenario“)
You can’t “duck and cover” during an EPOR period
Quicker EPOR trajectories which avoid the inner (proton) belt are needed
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Open discussion points:
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is it possible to simulates HANE effects in SPENVIS or OMERE?
could the simulation of solar proton event (SPE) in SPENVIS or OMERE emulate the effects
of HANE?
are GEO satellites already indirectly hardened? (since the radiation belt pumping effects due
to HANE in GEO orbit would decay within weeks)
are synergies in hardening against EPOR/Carrington/HANE to be expected?
can lessons of Jupiter missions applied to nuclear hardening?
how to raise awareness about HANE and radiation belt pumping?
Cost estimate: how much additional budget is necessary is necessary for nuclear hardening?
Is the AEP-50 standard still up to date? Do we need a new standard?
Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
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Additional slides added on 21st November 2018
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
More detailed Literature to this topic:
Collateral Damage to Satellites from an EMP Attack
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a531197.pdf
High Altitude Nuclear Detonations (HAND) Against Low Earth Orbit Satellites ("HALEOS")
https://fas.org/spp/military/program/asat/haleos.pdf
Extreme space weather: impacts on engineered systems and infrastructure
https://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/space-weather-full-report
SPACE AND NUCLEAR RADIATION HARDENING GUIDELINES FOR MILITARY
SATELLITES: ELECTRONICS AND PHOTONICS AEP-50
https://standards.globalspec.com/std/1678569/nato-stanag-4636
please contact your NATO national delegate to gain access to that NATO standard
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Drawing from the 1990‘s
how they imagined nuclear
hardening would be in the 2010‘s
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Awareness(Specifications)
nuclear hardening for dummies …
... welcome to the dark side
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back-up slides
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Nuclear hardening to protect satellites against high-altitude-nuclear-explosions
15th European Space Weather, 5th-9th November 2018, Leuven, Belgium