Off-topic: Linux hackers took control of Iridium satellites, Mars Polar Lander

From: Sergei Burkov (bilbo@bilbo.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Sat Apr 01 2000 - 09:48:26 PST

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Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 09:48:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Sergei Burkov <bilbo@bilbo.com-DeleteThis>
To: List Wind <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: Off-topic: Linux hackers took control of Iridium satellites, Mars Polar Lander
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1000401094559.23593B-100000@shell.accesscom.com-DeleteThis>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

LinEP group of citizen-programmers today announces that it succeeded in
uploading a stripped down version of Linux OS into computers which control
a number of space crafts, including 13 of 66 of Iridium satellites and
Mars Polar Lander. This allowed the group to take full control of the
apparata.

LinEP proudly announces that Mars Polar Lander is successfully revived.
"The first signal we received from the craft was extremely week," says
LinEP spokesman. "After four months on the surface of the red planet, the
batteries were dangerously low. We had only few minutes to realign the
antennas and solar panels. LinEP engineers were up to the challenge. With
the communication antennas pointed to the Earth and batteries being
recharged Mars Polar Lander is under our full control. The early tests
indicate that most lander's systems and science instruments are in a good
shape."

LinEP issues an urgent appeal to Universities and scientific laboratories
whose gauges and meters are installed on Mars Polar Lander to immediately
contact LinEP. The craft has a limited life span. Every hour counts.

LinEP also appeals to the Linux open source community for help with
writing drivers for the craft's scientific devices. LinEP programmers have
written the drivers for the lander's main communication and control
system, and two scientific devices. More drivers are needed.

One of the devices under LinEP control is Mars Microphone. It successfully
passed functionality tests and will be switched on at 6 p.m. PST on
Saturday, April 1, provided the batteries are sufficiently recharged by
then. The transmission will last for about three minutes and will be
available as live webcast at LinEP website
(http://linep.homepage.com/microphone.html).

"We discovered that NASA was unable to establish communication with the
lander because of fatal crash of the on-board computer's operating system.
Only wiping out flawed OS and loading Linux kernel revived the computer,"
says LinEP spokesman.

The other key to success was LinEP ingenious use of Russian terrestrial
antennas. These antennas and phased antenna arrays have been recently
declassified and transferred to civilian control. They appeared to be
superior to those at NASA's disposal. LinEP expresses its gratitude to the
local personnel who, despite clear danger of retribution from Russian
authorities, provided LinEP with access to these marvels of modern
technology. (For obvious reasons, LinEP withholds detailed information
about antennas it uses.)

A similar tactic of replacing inferior operating system with a stripped
down and specially adapted version of Linux allowed LinEP to take control
of 13 Iridium communication satellites.

"This new approach is broad and general, and will no doubt be used many
times in the future, by LinEP and others," says LinEP spokesman. "Only our
distaste of business methods patents as a class, and recent pioneering
hack of Netpliance's i-Opener by Ken Segler stopped us from applying for a
US patent."

With mounting costs and a small subscriber base, Iridium declared
bankruptcy in August of 1999. Unable to raise new funds, Iridium asked the
bankruptcy court to approve a plan that would crash the Iridium satellites
into the atmosphere and let them burn up. There exist alternative plans.
S.O.S. / Save Our Satellites (http://www.saveiridium.com), a "group of
concerned individuals", plans to acquire the Iridium Network and open it
to everybody.

LinEP took on Save Our Satellites' "Hack Iridium" challenge, and
succeeded. Now, SOS and the entire open source community need not to come
to the courts, feds and Iridium board as beggars. With 13 satellites firm
under LinEP's control, LinEP and open source community can negotiate with
the other side as an equal partner.

LinEP expresses its apologies to the open source community for not
immediately publishing the source code of its hack that allows the group
to upload Linux kernel onto a variety of civilian and military computers
and microcontrollers. (The source code of various specific device drivers
will be shortly available from LinEP web site.)

About LinEP. LinEP ("Linux in Every Pot") is a recently formed
international group of progressive hackers dedicated to improving life
standards of people everywhere through upgrading computer software that
controls a wide variety of devices, apparata and vehicles, from "smart"
microwave ovens, to network appliances, to battleships, to airplanes, to
satellites.

Next message: Richard Zimmerman: "Re: SFO/Southern Bay Bridge"
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