Threats to Space Mission Command Integrity: A Systemic Analysis of CCSDS Protocol With POC

This research presents a systematic threat modeling and security analysis of CCSDS Space Packet Protocol implementations within a mission control context, examining them under countermeasures informed by widely used guidance such as NASA’s Space Security Best Practices Guide. A laboratory proof-of-concept demonstrates how a modeled threat can be exploited even when nominal protections appear to be in place but with the weakness in design, using the ESA SPACE-SHIELD ATT&CK-style framework to map adversary techniques across mission phases and operational states. Rather than focusing solely on absent controls, the analysis highlights how partial implementation, configuration drift, or operational misunderstanding can reintroduce weaknesses that CCSDS and SDLS protections were intended to prevent. Effective threat modeling and risk analysis must therefore operate alongside guidelines and control catalogs; without this, organizations risk remaining at a checklist level of compliance instead of achieving genuine cyber resilience.