Patent ID: 8873456

Claim:
A satellite management system comprising: a communications system configured to receive commands from a plurality of operators using a number of communications links and to send the commands to a satellite using a single communications link; and an information management system configured to avoid conflicts between the commands sent by the communications system to the satellite from different operators in the plurality of operators that cause an undesired operation of the satellite, to manage first information received from the satellite with a first desired level of security, and to manage second information received from the satellite with a second desired level of security, wherein the first desired level of security identifies a first manner in which the first information is to be handled and is a first level selected from a group consisting of unclassified, confidential, secret, and top secret, wherein the second desired level of security identifies a second manner in which the second information is to be handled and is a second level selected from the group consisting of unclassified, confidential, secret, and top secret, wherein the second manner is different from the first manner, wherein the second level is different from the first level, and wherein the information management system comprises a transmission controller configured to control a token, the token providing a holder of the token and only the holder of the token an ability to send commands to the satellite via the single communications link, wherein the holder of the token is selected from a group consisting of an operator in the plurality of operators or an operations center.