TPM-supported key agreement protocols for increased autonomy in constellation of spacecrafts

The incorporation of security mechanisms to protect spacecraft's TT&c; payload links is becoming a constant requirement in many space missions. More advanced mission concepts will allow spacecrafts to have higher levels of autonomy, which includes performing key management operations independently of control centers. This is especially beneficial to support missions operating distantly from Earth. In order to support such levels of autonomy, key agreement is one approach that allows spacecrafts to establish new cryptographic keys as they deem necessary. This work introduces an approach based on a trusted platform module that allows for key agreement to be performed with minimal computational efforts and protocol iterations. Besides, it allows for opportunistic control center reporting while avoiding man-in-the-middle and replay attacks.