back to article Boeing signs off design of anti-jamming tech that keeps satellites online

Boeing said on Tuesday its anti-jam ground-based satellite communications system had passed the necessary tests to validate its design for use in the U.S. Space Force’s Pathfinder program. The aerospace giant hit the milestone by demonstrating the system, called the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES), with an on- …

  1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    Yes but...

    This is all very well, but how does it work? We don't need the details but it would be nice to see some sort of explanation. This is a tech site, after all...

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: Yes but...

      ”we have a method of preventing disruption to our satellite communications, here is how we do it. Hope you find this information useful in your work to develop a new jamming method to get round it”

      1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

        Re: Yes but...

        Security through obscurity?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Yes but...

          I once worked on a DVD player that was reputed to be un-jamable.

          A four year old inserted a disk covered in strawberry jam. It never played again.

          1. cookieMonster Silver badge
            Coffee/keyboard

            Re: Yes but...

            See icon

    2. Will Godfrey Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: Yes but...

      It uses the well known 'foolpoof' security by obscurity system.

    3. TJ1

      How it works!

      "Data protection is achieved by using a bit-cover process before frames are grouped into information blocks for encoding. The DVB-S2 short block code [4] is used as the primary forward-error-correction (FEC) mechanism. This provides a fixed 16,200 bit encoded block length based on a combination of LDPC and BCH techniques with resulting rates ranging from 0.19 to 0.88 and supporting approximately 10 dB of link SNR fluctuation for a given symbol rate and modulation.

      Codeword data is grouped into symbols and multiplexed across many hops, where a hop is the duration of time a transmission stays at one frequency before “hopping” away to another frequency. The hops are then permuted in time. Together, these features provide increased resistance to transient jamming or interference."

      Implementation and Testing of the Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) Brian J. Wolf, Member, IEEE, and Jacob C. Huang

      1. Phones Sheridan Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: How it works!

        Yes yes yes, very thorough, but how does it resist percussive jamming?

        1. TJ1
          Facepalm

          Re: How it works!

          It replaces the Jam with Honey, so they use percussive honey instead.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: How it works!

          By hiding the drumsticks?

      2. Neil Barnes Silver badge

        Re: How it works!

        Thank you.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yes but...

      They have installed wipers on the satellites parabolic antenna and have a ground crew on standby for the one on earth. Then they can just clear the jam off easily.

    5. Benegesserict Cumbersomberbatch Silver badge

      Re: Yes but...

      It works, but sometimes the jamming prevention kicks in when it's not needed, so the operator has to just keep turning the trim wheel as hard as they can until it stops... one way or the other.

  2. sanmigueelbeer
    Coat

    Boeing: Please don't jam this bird. The password is outside on a sticky-note.

    1. alain williams Silver badge

      What worries me ...

      is them forgetting to change the default password or sending them up all with the same password or something equally stupid. Sooo easily done.

  3. SidSlippers

    All well and good but one inverse tachyon field and it all goes tits-up.

  4. ThatOne Silver badge
    Happy

    We're jammin', jammin', and I hope you like jammin' too

    Sorry, someone had to say it...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    in other news...

    'China needs the capability to shoot down low-earth-orbit Starlink satellites...'

    www.reuters.com/world/studying-ukraine-war-chinas-military-minds-fret-over-us-missiles-starlink-2023-03-08/

    1. David Hicklin Silver badge

      Re: in other news...

      > China needs the capability to shoot down low-earth-orbit Starlink satellites.

      One thing that get me about these comments is that Starlink is in LEO, so they orbit faster than the earth, so for China to clear the space above it they would have to zap *every* starlink in that orbital path leaving a "band" around the planet just filled with debris.

      So just not practical.

  6. Potemkine! Silver badge

    Shield vs Sword

    China and Russia won't be jammin' US sats no more

    I doubt that.

  7. Fr. Ted Crilly Silver badge

    aww

    Why didn't they call it Protected Enterprise Tactical Services... no imagination some people.

    or, OR

    Tactical Protected Services-System even better, an opportunity lost I tell you.

    1. sanmigueelbeer

      Re: aww

      Protected Tactical Satellite Defence (PTSD)

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Raspberry?

  9. anothercynic Silver badge

    *oink* *oink*

    Them barrels keep on rolling...

  10. PRR Silver badge
    Headmaster

    pedantic

    > Afterall, the goal.....

    "“After all” is always two words.

    But maybe it is just a busted spacebar?

    > The programlaunched [PDF]...

  11. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

    [Sigh]

    Where is Hedy Lamarr when we really need her?

  12. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

    (Spaceball 1's radar has been jammed.) Radar Technichan: [Through P.A to Col. Sandurz] Sir! [Sandurz and Dark Helmet look over] Can I see you for a minute, please sir?

    [Sandurz and Helmet walk over]

    Sandurz:What is it Private?

    Radar Technichan: [Still through the P.A] I'm having trouble with the radar, sir!

    [Sandurz grabs the microphone the Technichan was just using]

    Sandurz: You don't need that, lieutenant. We're here. Now what is it?

    Radar Technician: [Still through the P.A] I'm having trouble with the radar, sir.

    [Helemet rips the microphone from the console and throws it aside.]

    Dark Helmet: Now what is it?!

    Radar Technician: [Normally] I'm having trouble with the radar, sir!

    Dark Helmet: What's wrong with it?!

    Radar Technician: I've lost the bleeps, I lost the sweeps, and I lost the creeps.

    Dark Helmet: The what?

    Colonel Sandurz: The what?

    Dark Helmet: And the what?

    Radar Techician: You know, the bleeps... [Makes beeping noise]... the sweeps... [Makes vibrating noise] and the creeps. [Makes squeaking noise]

    Dark Helmet: [Quietly, to Sandurz] That's not all he's lost.

    Radar Technician: Wait, sir! The radar, sir! It appears to be... [Jam starts flowing through the computer screen] jammed!

    Dark Helmet: Jammed... [Examines the jam and tastes it] Raspberry. There's only one man... [Sandurz gets out of the way of the approaching camera] ...who would dare give me the raspberry! [Pulls his mask down] Lone Starr! [Walks into the camera and collapses]

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    “I Like Money”

    These same satellites would still get knocked out of action in the case of a solar flare

    Sometimes I wonder if humans really understand what a real threat looks like, clue it isn’t other humans, and before you start thinking aliens, nope, the universe is a very dangerous place, and we are mere babies in relation to our time in existence.

    Personally, I am looking forward to the demise of this idiot ape-man lifeform subset

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