...it is like planning a gravity-assisted interplanetary
trajectory. Sure, it's complex and you have to get all
the details right — but once you start moving, the only
way you will fail to reach your destination is if the
laws of physics (or mathematics) change.
I will make a slight complaint about this statement, from the perspective of an aerospace engineer: long trajectories may be subject to a significant amount of uncertainty. Recall the fears of a huge asteroid[1] hitting Earth in 2036. It wasn't until refined measurements came in that we could be certain that it wouldn't go Deep Impact on us.
Other long-range space probes come under the influence of the many small objects in the solar system on their cold voyages, leading to course corrections during the mission. Estimating the position of these spacecraft or asteroids leads to an uncertainty ellipsoid in space, representing N% probability that the object is inside it.
So, yes, astrodynamics does work really well over short distances, but just like other engineering arenas, there is no Exact Answer.
As for the rest of the article, I'm not qualified to agree/disagree. The engineer in me just wants to use secure tools to make secure services and protect private data.
Probably the "refined measurements" you mention fall under "get[ting] all the details right". But then I guess you can explain almost any requirement that way.
Right. We don't have a perfect model of the solar system, or Earth for that matter. Of course, with a perfect model, we could predict orbits (or any other physical phenomenon) perfectly.
I think crypto, being a digital phenomenon, is way more on the science side than orbital determination.
Now, crypto on satellites poses a unique challenge, due to the interaction of solar radiation with electronics.
Other long-range space probes come under the influence of the many small objects in the solar system on their cold voyages, leading to course corrections during the mission. Estimating the position of these spacecraft or asteroids leads to an uncertainty ellipsoid in space, representing N% probability that the object is inside it.
So, yes, astrodynamics does work really well over short distances, but just like other engineering arenas, there is no Exact Answer.
As for the rest of the article, I'm not qualified to agree/disagree. The engineer in me just wants to use secure tools to make secure services and protect private data.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis