A new industry group wants satellites to prove, at the silicon level, that nobody has tampered with them. The Trusted Computing Group has created a working group for aerospace and space systems, and named Nvidia’s Thorsten Stremlau as its chair.
Called AERO-SWG, the group will look at trusted computing for satellite networks, uncrewed systems, autonomous platforms and disconnected edge environments. Its scope runs through the components, gateways and supply chains that link space systems to defense, transport and critical infrastructure.
Launch traffic makes the case. Some 4,434 satellites reached orbit in 2025, a 65 percent jump on the previous year, and each one carries parts that buyers rarely inspect. For TCG’s president, Joe Pennisi, the value of the group lies in giving experts a standing forum to work through the practical obstacles to trustworthy computing in aerospace.
Stremlau frames the task as mapping problems before writing fixes. The group intends to catalog high-value use cases and deployment hurdles, then steer TCG specifications toward stronger device identities, authentication, platform integrity and lifecycle trust.
The technical agenda sits at the hardware layer, spanning aircraft, satellites and ground stations. Tools in scope include Trusted Platform Module roots of trust for flight-critical software, the Device Identifier Composition Engine for lighter subsystems, and CyRes for recovering corrupted firmware in flight or in orbit.
The group also plans firmware integrity measurement and platform root-of-trust reporting, using verified certificates to confirm where a component came from and to keep unauthorized tools and terminals off operational networks.
TCG is inviting outside experts to join, as governments and operators hunt for ways to show that the hardware beneath a satellite is clean.
