It really wouldn't surprise me that someone with a bit of intelligence figured out how to talk to this ancient 1960s tech, found it still responded at the time, and fucked with it.
Me either. The old stuff wasn't secured. Hell, I could ping the FLTSATCOM bird over the Atlantic with what I have on hand right now if the elevation wasn't so low from my latitude.
Edit: Yeah, it's a repeater and that's not control but your point is still very valid.
Yes. Leave the door open and someone will steal your stuff. Not because they wanted your stuff, but because you left the door open.
I wonder how many of the old birds are out there that could respond to such. It would take very specialized knowledge and probably computational ability but it seems like it would be a considerable security risk. The orbits determine potential impact zones but what's to say an operator could not deorbit a satellite so as to pose a threat to ground targets. Probably more than an individual could work out but certainly not beyond the ability of a nation state if there was propellant left that could enable such a move.
(post is archived)