Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 21,2026: India’s space launch systems must be formally classified and protected as Cyber-Physical Critical Infrastructure (CPCI) under a Classified Consequence-Driven Cyber-Informed Engineering (C-CIE) framework, according to cyber-physical security specialist K S Manoj here on Saturday.
Manoj, Director of Intelegrid, told UNI that modern launch vehicles operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have evolved into tightly integrated cyber-physical systems in which digital control logic directly governs high-energy propulsion, navigation, and guidance functions.
“Today’s launch vehicles are not merely propulsion-driven mechanical systems. They are firmware-controlled, sensor-fused, software-defined cyber-physical platforms. That fundamentally changes the security equation,” Manoj said.
He explained that vehicles such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle depend on embedded flight computers, digital guidance algorithms, FPGA-based thrust vector control, and globally distributed electronics supply chains. In such systems, even minor digital perturbations can amplify into mission-scale physical consequences.
“Orbital insertion margins are tight. Guidance errors compound exponentially. Small parameter deviations can translate into large trajectory errors,” he noted, arguing that this amplification factor places launch vehicles squarely within the Cyber-Physical Critical Infrastructure domain.
Moving beyond conventional cybersecurity models, Manoj stressed that high-energy strategic systems require consequence-anchored protection rather than vulnerability-centric approaches.
“Security must be anchored in consequences. Instead of asking what vulnerabilities exist, we must ask what physical outcomes are intolerable, and how digital manipulation could trigger them,” he said.
This philosophy, known as Consequence-Driven Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE), begins by identifying catastrophic outcomes such as vehicle loss, payload destruction, or incorrect orbital insertion, and then works backward to map physics pathways and potential digital triggers.
For sovereign launch systems, he emphasised that such consequence mapping cannot remain purely academic or open domain.
“Space systems operate in a strategic environment. Threat modelling, telemetry sensitivity analysis, and supply chain risk mapping must occur within classified frameworks. That is why we need C-CIE, Classified Consequence-Driven Cyber-Informed Engineering,” he stated.
With growing private sector participation and globally distributed semiconductor supply chains, the cyber-physical risk surface is expanding, he cautioned, adding that the objective is not alarmism but engineering consequence immunity into strategically vital systems.
Under a C-CIE framework, Manoj suggested measures including immutable cryptographically verified flight parameters, independent trajectory recomputation channels, hardware root-of-trust in avionics, real-time physics envelope validation, and zero-trust supply chain validation.
“The aim is not merely to prevent intrusion, but to ensure that even if a digital anomaly occurs, it cannot cascade into catastrophic physical amplification,” he said.
He observed that while sectors such as power, banking, and telecom are widely recognised as Critical Information Infrastructure, space launch systems are still largely viewed through aerospace reliability lenses.
“That separation is outdated. Launch vehicles are sovereign strategic assets. Their protection doctrine must reflect their cyber-physical nature,” he added, calling for formal recognition of launch systems as Cyber-Physical Critical Infrastructure under national security doctrine, supported by structured C-CIE governance.
As India expands its commercial launch footprint and strategic missions, Manoj said the next generation of resilience must be physics-anchored.
“The future of sovereign space resilience lies in secure-by-physics engineering, where cyber manipulation cannot translate into mission-scale physical consequence. Nations that treat launch systems as cyber-physical strategic infrastructure, rather than purely aerospace platforms, will define the global standard for space security in the coming decade,” he said.
