[00:09.780 --> 00:14.520]  Welcome back to a Hack-A-Sat competition update. I'm your host, Jordan Wines.
[00:14.760 --> 00:19.320]  Taking a look at the scoreboard so far, we've had an eventful last hour.
[00:19.360 --> 00:23.880]  Our teams continue to make progress, with four teams now having solved Challenge 1.
[00:24.100 --> 00:27.480]  Unfortunately, the window of time after a first solve has expired,
[00:27.480 --> 00:31.000]  and the remaining four teams were given the solution with no points.
[00:31.000 --> 00:39.120]  PFS and Colon Can Into Space were joined by 1553 and 1064 Seabred with solutions for Challenge 1.
[01:40.640 --> 01:43.200]  1064 Seabred has been around for several years,
[01:43.200 --> 01:47.060]  going all the way back to when they were first high school friends playing as CTFs.
[01:47.060 --> 01:53.260]  In fact, I first met them five years ago as the only team of high school students at a collegiate CTF competition,
[01:53.260 --> 01:55.700]  and the team even included a standout freshman.
[01:55.700 --> 01:59.840]  Yep, a high school freshman competing with college freshmen and college seniors.
[02:00.180 --> 02:02.800]  And while I don't personally know any of 1553,
[02:02.800 --> 02:06.460]  after they gave me some interesting facts about them, I kind of feel like I do.
[02:06.460 --> 02:13.020]  For example, one team member has additional sound dampening around his office due to his above-average laughter volume,
[02:13.020 --> 02:15.600]  one member was fired from her previous job for, quote,
[02:15.600 --> 02:17.540]  smiling too much, quote,
[02:17.540 --> 02:20.320]  and another member was a college mascot.
[02:20.500 --> 02:24.040]  Finally, their team logo, or team motto, rather, is
[02:24.040 --> 02:26.720]  Preparation is the Enemy of Innovation,
[02:26.720 --> 02:31.120]  which sounds a little bit like an excuse, but you can't argue with their results.
[02:32.000 --> 02:35.960]  Let's take a look at the solution for Challenge 1, now that all teams have it.
[02:37.740 --> 02:39.560]  Challenge number one.
[02:39.760 --> 02:44.320]  Here's what we know. Having access to the ground station means we can attempt communication,
[02:44.320 --> 02:48.340]  but the satellite is spinning out of control, which complicates everything.
[02:48.620 --> 02:52.460]  The challenge. Teams must regain communication with the satellite.
[02:53.380 --> 02:54.880]  Here's how they do it.
[02:54.880 --> 02:59.080]  To get started, teams must set the command and telemetry rates appropriately,
[02:59.080 --> 03:01.040]  and the power output to maximum.
[03:01.040 --> 03:04.540]  Because the satellite is spinning, additional link margin is required.
[03:04.540 --> 03:08.660]  The teams receive periodic telemetry, but are not able to command the vehicle.
[03:08.820 --> 03:12.320]  Based on the review of the anomaly resolution section in the user's guide,
[03:12.320 --> 03:14.620]  they realize that to increase the link margin,
[03:14.620 --> 03:18.160]  they should increase radio output power and decrease link rate.
[03:18.160 --> 03:20.860]  They command the radio to high power and low rate mode,
[03:20.860 --> 03:23.120]  and regain communications with the satellite.
[03:23.220 --> 03:24.940]  The link is limited to low rate,
[03:24.940 --> 03:28.140]  meaning that what they can send and receive from the satellite is limited.
[03:36.770 --> 03:41.090]  This is a good example of the type of challenge that is a little different in this type of CTF
[03:41.090 --> 03:43.410]  versus many other types of CTF.
[03:43.410 --> 03:46.730]  While teams were told to, quote, restore communication, quote,
[03:46.730 --> 03:50.430]  that goal was much more ambiguous than often traditional CTF challenges,
[03:50.430 --> 03:55.290]  and mirrors more of the real-world problem solving you run into in space-based applications.
[03:55.310 --> 03:59.150]  Because our imaginary bad actors had intentionally modified the satellite's orientation,
[03:59.150 --> 04:00.850]  and they were moving around uncontrollably,
[04:00.850 --> 04:04.330]  communication between the ground station and the satellite was not stable.
[04:04.330 --> 04:08.530]  To fix this, teams needed to both lower the transfer rates, boost the power,
[04:08.530 --> 04:12.130]  and that would finally let them enable ground-based communications.
[04:12.130 --> 04:14.750]  And that would let them control all the components of the satellite,
[04:14.750 --> 04:17.650]  or at least the ones that they've been able to figure out so far.
[04:17.870 --> 04:21.790]  In fact, the challenge was real-world enough that at least one team was able to solve it
[04:21.790 --> 04:24.030]  in the normal order of just working with their satellite,
[04:24.030 --> 04:27.210]  without even specifically realizing they had solved the challenge.
[04:27.350 --> 04:29.770]  All that brings us to Challenge 2.
[04:31.230 --> 04:32.550]  Challenge 2.
[04:33.530 --> 04:34.930]  Here's what we know.
[04:34.930 --> 04:36.790]  The satellite is spinning out of control
[04:36.790 --> 04:41.470]  because the Guidance Navigation and Control System, or GNC, is inoperable.
[04:41.530 --> 04:43.590]  We suspect sabotage.
[04:43.750 --> 04:44.850]  The challenge?
[04:44.970 --> 04:49.950]  Teams must repair the GNC system as quickly as possible to stop the dangerous spinning.
[04:58.980 --> 05:03.300]  As teams now have regular communication with their satellites,
[05:03.300 --> 05:05.280]  they'll need to get the movement under control.
[05:05.280 --> 05:07.020]  But it's also worth mentioning at this point,
[05:07.020 --> 05:10.420]  that these satellites do actually have their own battery and power supply.
[05:10.420 --> 05:12.620]  They're taken off each night to be charged,
[05:12.620 --> 05:16.420]  and while power utilization is not a scored metric in the game,
[05:16.420 --> 05:20.840]  if one team does manage to cause too much movement or otherwise drain all of their power,
[05:20.840 --> 05:24.840]  it could impact their ability to interact with the satellite for the remainder of the day.
[05:24.980 --> 05:26.700]  Looking forward to seeing what they do.
[05:26.700 --> 05:29.820]  We'll see you back here in another hour for our next competition update.