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: Take control of an on-board experiment environment (OPS-SAT authorized exercise)

Grounding:
- SPARTA LM-0001 Hosted Payload: The adversary pivots through the host–payload boundary to reach additional subsystems. Hosted payloads exchange power, time, housekeeping, and data with the bus via defined gateways (e.g., SpaceWire, 1553, Ethernet) and often support file services, table loads, and command…
- SPARTA PER-0002 Backdoor: A backdoor is a covert access path that bypasses normal authentication, authorization, or operational checks so the attacker can reenter the system on demand. Backdoors may be preexisting (undocumented service modes, maintenance accounts, debug features) or introduced by the…
- SPARTA REC-0004.01 Flight Termination: Threat actors may attempt to learn how the launch vehicle’s flight termination capability is architected and governed, command-destruct versus autonomous flight termination (AFTS), authority chains, cryptographic protections, arming interlocks, inhibit ladders, telemetry…
- SPARTA EX-0014.02 Bus Traffic Spoofing: Here the adversary forges messages on internal command/data paths (e.g., 1553, SpaceWire, CAN, custom). By emitting frames with valid identifiers, addresses, and timing, the attacker can make subscribers accept actuator setpoints, power switch toggles, mode changes, or…
- SPARTA IMP-0004 Degradation: Measures designed to permanently impair (either partially or totally) the use of a system. Threat actors may target various subsystems or the hosted payload in such a way to rapidly increase it's degradation. This could potentially shorten the lifespan of the victim spacecraft.
- SPARTA REC-0009 Gather Mission Information: Adversaries compile a CONOPS-level portrait of the mission to predict priorities, constraints, and operational rhythms. They harvest stated needs, goals, and performance measures; enumerate key elements/instruments and their duty cycles; and extract mode logic, operational…
- SPARTA EX-0012 Modify On-Board Values: The attacker alters live or persistent data that the spacecraft uses to make decisions and route work. Targets include device and control registers, parameter and limit tables, internal routing/subscriber maps, schedules and timelines, priority/QoS settings, watchdog and timer…
- SPARTA DE-0005 Subvert Protections via Safe-Mode: The adversary exploits the spacecraft’s recovery posture to bypass controls that are stricter in nominal operations. During safe-mode, vehicles often accept contingency dictionaries, relax rate/size and timetag checks, activate alternate receivers or antennas, and emit reduced…

Steps so far:
1. Execute code in the hosted experiment [LM-0001]
2. Reach system interfaces [EX-0012]
3. Persist in the experiment slot [PER-0002]

Give the single next step.

assistant: 4. Manipulate a payload function
   - Technique: IMP-0004 Degradation [ST0009]
   - Action: Alter a payload output such as the imager to degrade its product.
   - Check: payload output deviates from the expected emulated baseline.