Toward Space-Based Public Key Systems: Enabling Secure Space Communications through In-Orbit Trust Services

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2605.05948v1
• Date: Thu, 07 May 2026 09:57:35 GMT
• Title: Toward Space-Based Public Key Systems: Enabling Secure Space Communications through In-Orbit Trust Services
• Abstract summary: The New Space era has led to a rapid increase in satellites operated by independent entities in near-Earth orbit.<n>Traditional ground-dependent Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) suffers from latency and operational bottlenecks.<n>This paper proposes architectural designs for space-based PKI that shift certificate management and validation from ground infrastructure into space.
• Score: 0.3823356975862005
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: The New Space era has led to a rapid increase in satellites operated by independent entities in near-Earth orbit. This shift enables richer space services but also requires secure, near-real-time coordination, making efficient authentication of space assets critical for next-generation missions. Traditional ground-dependent Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) suffers from latency and operational bottlenecks that limit scalability and availability in dynamic space environments. This paper proposes architectural designs for space-based PKI that shift certificate management and validation from ground infrastructure into space, reducing reliance on ground stations while enabling interoperability and cross-entity collaboration. Two deployment schemes are introduced: a space-ground integrated PKI with in-orbit validation authorities, and a fully autonomous space-based PKI with in-space issuance and validation. We analyze deployment trade-offs in scalability, availability, security, cost, and operational complexity in multi-operator environments. A baseline latency analysis is provided to illustrate performance implications of in-orbit trust management.

Related papers

• Deploying and validating a metropolitan QKD secure network: architecture and field performance [76.02413102965598]
  Quantum Key Distribution provides information-theoretic security for key establishment.<n>A metropolitan-scale quantum-secure network between data centers in Milan is reported.<n>Results establish the technical and operational readiness of metropolitan QKD networks for production deployment.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-07-13T15:51:26Z)
• Space Network of Experts: Architecture and Expert Placement [53.89437186709926]
  Space data centers are envisioned as a promising platform for executing energy-intensive large language models (LLMs)<n>One key challenge, however, is the efficient distributed deployment of a large-scale LLM in a satellite network.<n>We present the Space Network of Experts (Space-XNet) framework targeting the distributed execution of a popular mixture-of-experts (MoE) model in space.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-05-01T08:40:31Z)
• Space Fabric: A Satellite-Enhanced Trusted Execution Architecture [1.9116784879310027]
  Decentralized satellite networks create a pressing need for trust architectures that operate without physical access to hardware.<n>We present Space Fabric, an architecture that relocates the trusted computing stack to satellite infrastructure.<n>All cryptographic secrets are generated within co-located secure elements after launch, with no signing keys accessible on Earth at any point.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-03-24T22:13:02Z)
• Operational limits to entanglement-based satellite quantum key distribution [0.0]
  Entanglement-based quantum key distribution is prone to finite key effects due to low coincident count rates.<n>We develop a high-fidelity model of pair distribution from a low Earth orbit satellite.<n>We integrate this with a rigorous finite-key security framework for the BBM92 protocol to optimise secret key length across different overpass geometries.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-02-12T11:22:15Z)
• OptiVote: Non-Coherent FSO Over-the-Air Majority Vote for Communication-Efficient Distributed Federated Learning in Space Data Centers [68.73273027298625]
  megaconstellations are driving the long-term vision of space data centers (SDCs)<n>AirComp is an in-network aggregation framework for learning free-space (FSO)<n>AirVote integrates sign gradient (SGD) with a majority-signposition modulation (PPM), where each satellite conveys local gradient by activating PPM time slots.<n>OptiVote mitigates phase-sensitive field superposition into phase-agnostic optical intensity combining.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-12-30T16:40:02Z)
• ASTREA: Introducing Agentic Intelligence for Orbital Thermal Autonomy [51.56484100374058]
  ASTREA is the first agentic system executed on flight-heritage hardware for autonomous spacecraft operations.<n>We integrate a resource-constrained Large Language Model (LLM) agent with a reinforcement learning controller in an asynchronous architecture tailored for space-qualified platforms.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-09-16T08:52:13Z)
• Joint AoI and Handover Optimization in Space-Air-Ground Integrated Network [48.485907216785904]
  Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations offer promising solutions with global coverage and reduced latency.<n>Yet struggle with intermittent coverage and intermittent communication windows due to orbital dynamics.<n>Our three-layer design employs hybrid free-space optical (FSO) links for high-capacity satellite-to-ground communication and reliable radio frequency (RF) links for HAP-to-ground transmission.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-09-16T06:16:56Z)
• Space-O-RAN: Enabling Intelligent, Open, and Interoperable Non Terrestrial Networks in 6G [16.472121677010268]
  This paper introduces Space-O-RAN, a distributed control architecture that extends Open RAN principles into satellite constellations through hierarchical, closed-loop control.<n>Lightweight glspldapp operate onboard satellites, enabling real-time functions like scheduling and beam steering without relying on persistent ground access.<n>A key enabler is the dynamic mapping of the O-RAN interfaces to satellite links, supporting adaptive signaling under varying conditions.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-02-21T21:03:37Z)
• Cluster-Based Multi-Agent Task Scheduling for Space-Air-Ground Integrated Networks [60.085771314013044]
  Low-altitude economy holds significant potential for development in areas such as communication and sensing.<n>We propose a Clustering-based Multi-agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (CMADDPG) algorithm to address the multi-UAV cooperative task scheduling challenges in SAGIN.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-12-14T06:17:33Z)
• KeySpace: Enhancing Public Key Infrastructure for Interplanetary Networks [12.75150000827501]
  interplanetary communication relays connect distant network segments together, but result in a sparsely connected network with long-distance links that are frequently interrupted.<n>Traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) becomes difficult to implement, due to the impossibility of low-latency queries to a central authority.<n>This paper addresses the challenge of implementing PKI in these complex networks, identifying the essential goals and requirements.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-08-20T16:00:17Z)
• Trustful Coopetitive Infrastructures for the New Space Exploration Era [0.0]
  In the new space economy, space agencies, large enterprises, and start-ups aim to launch space multi-robot systems (MRS) for various in-situ resource utilization purposes. These stakeholders' competing economic interests may hinder effective collaboration on a centralized digital platform. This paper presents a novel architectural framework and a comprehensive set of requirements for integrating blockchain technology in MRS.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-08T19:24:38Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.