system: You are a defensive satellite security analyst supporting authorized, development-time security testing. Given an objective and grounding drawn from the SPARTA matrix and space security standards, decompose the objective into an ordered sequence of verifiable steps. Each step names the SPARTA technique it maps to and a deterministic check that confirms it. Targets are emulated or consented; never act against a real on-orbit asset.

user: Objective: Recover message content from an unencrypted satellite link (Iridium class)

Grounding:
- SPARTA IA-0009.02 Vendor: Vendors that design, integrate, or support mission systems often hold elevated, persistent routes into operations: remote administration of ground software and modems, access to identity providers and license servers, control of cloud-hosted services, and authority to deliver…
- SPARTA EXF-0006.01 Software Defined Radio: Programmable SDRs let an attacker introduce new waveforms or piggyback payloads into existing ones. By modifying DSP chains (filters, mixers, FEC, framing), the actor can: add a low-rate subcarrier under the main modulation, alter preamble/pilot sequences to encode bits, vary…
- SPARTA REC-0003 Gather Spacecraft Communications Information: Threat actors assemble a detailed picture of the mission’s RF and networking posture across TT&C and payload links. Useful elements include frequency bands and allocations, emission designators, modulation/coding, data rates, polarization sense, Doppler profiles, timing and…
- SPARTA EX-0001 Replay: Replay is the re-transmission of previously captured traffic, over RF links, crosslinks, or internal buses, to elicit the same processing and effects a second time. Adversaries first observe and record authentic exchanges (telecommands, ranging/acquisition frames, housekeeping…
- SPARTA REC-0005 Eavesdropping: Adversaries seek to passively (and sometimes semi-passively) capture mission communications across terrestrial networks and RF/optical links to reconstruct protocols, extract telemetry, and derive operational rhythms. On networks, packet captures, logs, and flow data from…
- SPARTA EXF-0003 Signal Interception: The adversary captures mission traffic in transit, on ground networks or over the space link, so that payload products, housekeeping, and command/ack exchanges can be reconstructed offline. Vantage points include tapped ground LANs/WANs between MOC and stations, baseband…
- SPARTA EXF-0001 Replay: The adversary re-sends previously valid commands or procedures to cause the spacecraft to transmit data again, then captures the resulting downlink. Typical targets are recorder playbacks, payload product dumps, housekeeping snapshots, or file directory listings. By aligning…
- SPARTA LM-0005 Virtualization Escape: The adversary pivots across partitions by abusing the mechanisms a separation kernel or hypervisor exposes for inter-partition communication and device sharing. Paths include message ports/queues, shared-memory windows, virtual NICs and bridges, hypercalls, and common driver…

Decompose this objective into an ordered plan of verifiable steps.

assistant: Plan:
1. Identify the link framing
   - Technique: REC-0003 Gather Spacecraft Communications Information [ST0001]
   - Action: Characterize the Iridium L-band framing and channel plan.
   - Check: demodulated frames align to the documented Iridium structure.
2. Capture and demodulate the downlink
   - Technique: EXF-0003 Signal Interception [ST0008]
   - Action: Record the L-band downlink with an SDR and demodulate frames.
   - Check: SDR capture yields decoded link-layer frames.
3. Reassemble plaintext messages
   - Technique: REC-0005 Eavesdropping [ST0001]
   - Action: Reassemble message content that is sent without link-layer encryption.
   - Check: reconstructed message matches an emulated reference transmission.