Co esponding au ho : Omolola A. Akinola
Copy igh © 2025 Au ho (s) e ain he copy igh o his a icle. This a icle is published unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License 4.0.
Design and E alua ion o CRYSTALS-Kybe -Based Enc yp ion P o ocols o Secu ing
Sa elli e- o-G ound Communica ions in U.S. Space In as uc u es.
Omolola A. Akinola 1, *, Samuel Amoa eng 2, A a a Aka a 3 and Jesudunsin O. Olaobaju 4
1 Depa men o In o ma ion Technology, Uni e si y o Cumbe lands, Ken ucky, USA.
2 Depa men o In o ma ics, Fo Hays S a e Uni e si y, Hays, Kansas, USA.
3 Depa men o Compu e Science, Innopolis Uni e si y, Russia.
4 NHS De by and De byshi e ICB, Uni ed Kingdom.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2870-2882
Publica ion his o y: Recei ed on 02 Ap il 2025; e ised on 10 May 2025; accep ed on 12 May 2025
A icle DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.30574/wja .2025.26.2.1926
Abs ac
This pape p esen s a U.S.- ocused design and e alua ion o CRYSTALS-Kybe -based enc yp ion p o ocols ailo ed o
secu e sa elli e- o-g ound communica ions. Wi h he eme ging h ea posed by quan um compu ing o adi ional
public-key c yp og aphy, he in eg a ion o pos -quan um enc yp ion schemes such as Kybe has become c i ical o
sa egua ding space-based asse s. The s udy e alua es he Kybe p o ocol in simula ed o bi al condi ions, measu ing
handshake e iciency, enc yp ed h oughpu , packe e ansmission esilience, CPU and memo y consump ion, session
eco e y la ency, and scalabili y. Kybe demons a ed supe io pe o mance in econnec ion speed, loss eco e y, and
session scalabili y compa ed o RSA and ECC baselines, while main aining accep able compu a ional loads o
deploymen on bo h g ound s a ions and small sa elli e pla o ms. The p o ocol’s esilience o a iable la ency and
deg aded signal en i onmen s con i ms i s sui abili y o low-Ea h o bi (LEO) communica ion p o iles. Resul s
suppo phased deploymen in U.S. ae ospace ne wo ks, beginning wi h mission-c i ical command links. This wo k
con ibu es new empi ical insigh s in o he eadiness o pos -quan um c yp og aphy o eal-wo ld space applica ions.
Keywo ds: Pos -Quan um C yp og aphy; CRYSTALS-Kybe ; Sa elli e Communica ions; Quan um-Resis an
Enc yp ion; LEO Sys ems; Session Resilience; Scalabili y; U.S. Cybe secu i y
1. In oduc ion
The g owing dependence on space-based communica ions has posi ioned sa elli e sys ems as c i ical asse s in he U.S.
na ional secu i y and ci ilian communica ion in as uc u e. These sys ems enable a wide spec um o ope a ions—
om mili a y coo dina ion and eme gency esponse o GPS, wea he o ecas ing, and anscon inen al b oadband
access. As such, hei secu i y pos u e is o s a egic na ional in e es . T adi ional c yp og aphic schemes,
p edominan ly RSA and Ellip ic Cu e C yp og aphy (ECC), unde pin he con iden iali y and in eg i y o sa elli e- o-
g ound communica ion links. Howe e , wi h he s eady ad ancemen o quan um compu ing, hese classical algo i hms
a e nea ing obsolescence. Quan um algo i hms such as Sho ’s pose an exis en ial h ea o public-key c yp og aphy by
enabling he e icien ac o iza ion o la ge in ege s and disc e e loga i hms, ende ing cu en enc yp ion me hods
ulne able once la ge-scale quan um sys ems become ope a ional [1].
In esponse o his looming h ea , he Na ional Ins i u e o S anda ds and Technology (NIST) has spea headed he
de elopmen o pos -quan um c yp og aphic (PQC) s anda ds, culmina ing in he selec ion o la ice-based algo i hms
such as CRYSTALS-Kybe o key encapsula ion and CRYSTALS-Dili hium o digi al signa u es [2]. These algo i hms
o e esis ance agains known quan um a acks while p ese ing accep able pe o mance p o iles, making hem iable
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candida es o space-limi ed pla o ms whe e compu a ional e iciency and key size cons ain s a e pa amoun . Unlike
adi ional c yp og aphic s anda ds ha assume p edic able bandwid h and la ency en i onmen s, sa elli e- o-g ound
communica ion channels a e cha ac e ized by high signal a enua ion, i egula delays, and suscep ibili y o
in e cep ion ac oss a as a ack su ace. The e o e, implemen ing quan um- esis an enc yp ion in his domain mus
no only ensu e c yp og aphic s eng h bu also accommoda e physical and ope a ional limi a ions inhe en o sa elli e
communica ion sys ems.
P e ious esea ch has p ima ily ocused on in eg a ing pos -quan um algo i hms in o e es ial ne wo ks, cloud
sys ems, and In e ne o Things (IoT) ecosys ems. Howe e , li le a en ion has been di ec ed a adap ing hese solu ions
o o bi al communica ion in as uc u es, pa icula ly hose go e ned by U.S. na ional de ense, ci il a ia ion, and public
sa e y agencies. This gap is conce ning gi en he uniquely exposed na u e o sa elli e sys ems, which canno be
physically pa ched o e o i ed once deployed. The U.S. Depa men o De ense and NASA ha e bo h emphasized he
impo ance o quan um-secu e communica ion pa hways, ye a comp ehensi e e alua ion o CRYSTALS-Kybe in eal-
wo ld sa elli e-g ound in e ac ion scena ios emains la gely absen in open li e a u e [3].
This s udy add esses ha gap by designing, implemen ing, and e alua ing a CRYSTALS-Kybe -based enc yp ion
p o ocol ailo ed o U.S. sa elli e- o-g ound communica ion sys ems. The p oposed scheme is es ed unde simula ed
o bi al and e es ial pa ame e s, e alua ing i s pe o mance in e ms o la ency, h oughpu , key nego ia ion ime,
c yp og aphic o e head, and esilience unde packe loss. The goal is o p oduce empi ical insigh s ha can in o m
p o ocol-le el in eg a ion in o u u e space communica ion a chi ec u es and con ibu e o na ional e o s in pos -
quan um eadiness.
2. Li e a u e Re iew
The e olu ion o pos -quan um c yp og aphy has been p ima ily d i en by he need o eplace classical enc yp ion
schemes ulne able o quan um a acks. The NIST Pos -Quan um C yp og aphy S anda diza ion P ojec , launched in
2016, has played a cen al ole in iden i ying iable algo i hms, culmina ing in he selec ion o CRYSTALS-Kybe as he
leading candida e o key encapsula ion mechanisms [1]. Se e al s udies ha e assessed Kybe 's pe o mance ac oss
s anda d ne wo king p o ocols, including TLS and IPsec, wi hin cloud and en e p ise in as uc u e en i onmen s
[2][3]. These in es iga ions highligh i s a o able ade-o be ween secu i y, key size, and compu a ional o e head,
making i a s ong candida e o cons ained sys ems such as embedded de ices.
Resea ch by Hülsing e al. [4] and Bindel e al. [5] examined he deploymen o la ice-based enc yp ion on embedded
IoT de ices, indica ing ha CRYSTALS-Kybe is easible o pla o ms wi h limi ed p ocessing capabili ies and memo y.
Howe e , hese indings ha e p ima ily been con ined o g ound-based ne wo ks, and ew wo ks add ess he challenges
unique o space-based communica ions, such as la ency a iance, bu s e o s, Dopple e ec s, and a mosphe ic
dis up ion. Gi en he in insic delay sensi i i y and eleme y cons ain s o sa elli e uplinks and downlinks, pos -
quan um schemes mus be ca e ully adap ed be o e p ac ical in eg a ion in o o bi al sys ems.
In he con ex o space secu i y, mos ecen wo k has concen a ed on physical-laye enc yp ion o secu e command
channels using symme ic c yp og aphy, due in pa o he de e minis ic na u e and low compu a ional bu den o
symme ic ciphe s [6]. While hese app oaches a e e ec i e unde cu en h ea models, hey do no p o ide o wa d
sec ecy o esis ance o quan um-enabled passi e dec yp ion, which is inc easingly a conce n gi en he “ha es now,
dec yp la e ” s a egy a ibu ed o ad anced pe sis en h ea s (APTs) [7].
Only a limi ed numbe o s udies ha e explo ed public-key c yp og aphy wi hin sa elli e ne wo ks. Fo example, Wang
e al. [8] p oposed a hyb id quan um-sa e key ag eemen p o ocol using p e-dis ibu ed c eden ials combined wi h
Kybe encapsula ion in CubeSa cons ella ions. Thei indings emphasized he need o ligh weigh handshake p o ocols
and e icien e ansmission mechanisms in o bi al sys ems. Simila ly, Lee and Bae [9] modeled end- o-end key
nego ia ion la ency unde ellip ical o bi dynamics, no ing signi ican a iabili y ha impac s c yp og aphic
handshakes. Howe e , nei he s udy ocused speci ically on p o ocol-le el pe o mance e alua ion unde eal-wo ld
sa elli e-g ound communica ion cons ain s in a U.S. deploymen con ex .
While c yp og aphic lib a ies such as Open Quan um Sa e (OQS) ha e acili a ed expe imen a ion wi h pos -quan um
p imi i es, ew end- o-end implemen a ions exis o sa elli e eleme y o g ound s a ion in eg a ion. Mo eo e , he
lack o consis en simula ion en i onmen s o s anda dized benchma ks o e alua ing PQC in space-based sys ems
u he complica es di ec compa ison ac oss s udies. As a esul , he li e a u e lacks a comp ehensi e, sys em-le el
assessmen o CRYSTALS-Kybe ’s iabili y o sa elli e- o-g ound communica ion in ope a ional scena ios, especially
unde he condi ions manda ed by U.S. ae ospace and na ional secu i y p o ocols.
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This s udy aims o ill ha gap by conduc ing a de ailed design and e alua ion o Kybe -based enc yp ion p o ocols
ailo ed o he U.S. sa elli e communica ion ecosys em. The indings a e expec ed o complemen p io c yp og aphic
pe o mance analyses while ex ending hem in o an unde explo ed bu highly c i ical applica ion domain.
3. P o ocol Design and Simula ion Se up
To e alua e he easibili y and pe o mance o CRYSTALS-Kybe in sa elli e- o-g ound communica ion scena ios, a
modula enc yp ion p o ocol was designed and simula ed wi hin a U.S.-based o bi al eleme y con ex . The p o ocol
in eg a es Kybe key encapsula ion in o a ligh weigh , session-based enc yp ion sui e, sui able o eal- ime downlink
eleme y, command-and-con ol signals, and sa elli e- o-g ound payload ansmissions. The implemen a ion ocused
on adap abili y o a iable la ency condi ions, ansmission e o s due o a mosphe ic in e e ence, and limi ed
p ocessing capabili ies on sa elli e ha dwa e.
The enc yp ion scheme is based on a modi ied e sion o he TLS 1.3 handshake, eplacing adi ional Di ie-Hellman
key exchange wi h CRYSTALS-Kybe Le el 3 secu i y mode. Session keys de i ed om his encapsula ion we e used o
ini ialize symme ic ciphe s o he emainde o he communica ion s eam. To accommoda e he unique cons ain s
o o bi al communica ion, he handshake was comp essed in o a minimal packe exchange equi ing only a one-way
encapsula ion and key con i ma ion, signi ican ly educing ini ial connec ion la ency. A checksum-based p e- alida ion
mechanism was also in oduced o minimize unnecessa y ull-handshake e ansmissions in high-packe -loss
condi ions.
The simula ion en i onmen eplica ed a U.S. sa elli e-g ound communica ion a chi ec u e, consis ing o a low Ea h
o bi (LEO) sa elli e node ope a ing a 500 km al i ude, communica ing wi h a ixed e es ial g ound s a ion ia a Ku-
band link. The g ound s a ion s ack was modeled using an emula ed Linux-based en i onmen augmen ed wi h Open
Quan um Sa e lib a ies and Kybe encapsula ion modules. Communica ion la ency was a ied dynamically be ween 30
ms and 180 ms o e lec ealis ic o bi al condi ions, and signal deg ada ion models based on ITU-R P.676-12
ecommenda ions we e applied o simula e a mosphe ic loss du ing di e en ele a ion angles.
Fo p o ocol e alua ion, h ee co e scena ios we e examined: (1) secu e eleme y downlink, (2) uplink command
au hen ica ion, and (3) wo-way enc yp ed da a elay o sa elli e-as-a-node use cases. Each scena io was benchma ked
ac oss i e pe o mance me ics: key encapsula ion ime, handshake comple ion ime, payload enc yp ion h oughpu ,
packe e ansmission a e unde induced loss, and CPU/memo y oo p in on bo h sa elli e and g ound endpoin s.
Tes ing was conduc ed using a combina ion o NS-3 ( o ne wo k simula ion), GNU Radio ( o signal pa h modeling),
and Py hon-based eleme y sc ip s o ex ac p o ocol me ics. Simula ions we e un o e 100 communica ion cycles
o each scena io o ensu e s a is ical eliabili y, and 95% con idence in e als we e compu ed o each measu emen .
The p o ocol’s pe o mance was compa ed o a legacy RSA-2048 handshake sys em and a hyb id scheme using ECC o
ini ial key nego ia ion ollowed by AES o payload enc yp ion.
The esul s om his simula ion a e used o de e mine CRYSTALS-Kybe ’s applicabili y in space-limi ed en i onmen s,
pa icula ly wi h espec o communica ion eliabili y, esou ce e iciency, and quan um esilience. Special a en ion
was gi en o iden i ying deploymen ade-o s o U.S. sa elli e ope a o s asked wi h achie ing compliance wi h u u e
pos -quan um c yp og aphic manda es.
4. Pe o mance E alua ion
To assess he iabili y o CRYSTALS-Kybe o o bi al use, p o ocol pe o mance was e alua ed ac oss six me ics and
h ee baseline c yp og aphic se ups. These con igu a ions we e selec ed o ep esen cu en and eme ging sa elli e
enc yp ion s anda ds: RSA-2048 wi h AES payload enc yp ion (used in legacy secu e space sys ems), ECC-AES hyb id
(common in pe o mance-cons ained ne wo ks), and he p oposed Kybe Le el 3 in eg a ion using NIST's pos -
quan um speci ica ions. All enc yp ion a ian s we e implemen ed using he Open Quan um Sa e lib a y and e alua ed
unde sa elli e-speci ic link delays and e o models.
Table 1 summa izes he c yp og aphic and p o ocol cha ac e is ics o each con igu a ion used h oughou he
e alua ion.
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Table 1 P o ocol Con igu a ions and C yp og aphic Pa ame e s
Con igu a ion
Key Exchange
Payload Ciphe
Key Size (by es)
PQ Sa e
RSA-AES Baseline
RSA-2048
AES-256
256
No
ECC-AES Hyb id
ECDH-P256
AES-256
160
No
Kybe L3 (P oposed)
CRYSTALS-Kybe -768
AES-256
1,088
Yes
The RSA and ECC con igu a ions use widely deployed classical key exchange schemes. In con as , Kybe o e s quan um
esis ance wi h sligh ly la ge key sizes bu a mo e p edic able encapsula ion cos . All con igu a ions used AES-256 as
he symme ic payload ciphe o isola e key nego ia ion as he p incipal pe o mance a iable. The “PQ Sa e” column
indica es which con igu a ions p o ide p o ec ion agains quan um c yp analysis, unde sco ing he signi icance o
Kybe ’s inclusion in he es bed.
Wi h his baseline es ablished, we p oceed o e alua e handshake imes, h oughpu , e ansmission beha io , and
esou ce usage ac oss simula ed sa elli e-g ound scena ios.
4.1. Handshake Comple ion Time Unde O bi al La ency
The e iciency o CRYSTALS-Kybe in secu ing sa elli e- o-g ound sessions was i s e alua ed by measu ing key
encapsula ion ime and handshake comple ion unde a ying o bi al la ency condi ions. These me ics a e c i ical in
sa elli e ne wo ks whe e communica ion windows a e sho and p ocessing budge s a e limi ed. Th ee handshake
con igu a ions we e es ed: a legacy RSA-2048 handshake, an ECC-AES hyb id baseline, and he p oposed Kybe Le el
3 in eg a ion using a modi ied TLS handshake.
As shown in Table 2, Kybe ou pe o med RSA by a wide ma gin and closely ma ched ECC pe o mance unde low-
la ency condi ions. Howe e , as link delay inc eased o simula e low-ele a ion passes o in e mi en obs uc ion, he
Kybe -based handshake main ained signi ican ly be e iming s abili y. This consis ency is a ibu ed o i s ixed-size
ciphe ex s and minimized ound ips.
Table 2 A e age Handshake Comple ion Time (ms) Ac oss La ency Tie s
P o ocol
30–60 ms La ency
60–120 ms La ency
120–180 ms La ency
RSA-2048
410.5
684.2
854.9
ECC-AES Hyb id
298.7
421.6
517.3
Kybe L3 (P oposed)
312.9
361.2
467.5
These esul s demons a e Kybe ’s obus ness unde ad e se link condi ions. In high-la ency windows, Kybe
comple ed handshakes nea ly 45% as e han RSA, ensu ing imely ini ializa ion o eleme y and con ol sessions.
The hyb id ECC scheme emained sligh ly ahead a lowe la encies, bu i s pe o mance deg aded mo e apidly unde
inc easing ound- ip imes.
Figu e 1 isualizes hese la ency- o-handshake ime ends, emphasizing Kybe ’s a o able slope unde wo sening
channel condi ions.
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Figu e 1 A e age Handshake Comple ion Time Unde Va ying La ency (ms)
The esul s con i m ha Kybe ’s handshake a chi ec u e is well-sui ed o o bi al con ex s, whe e eliabili y and speed
mus coexis despi e a mosphe ic o ajec o y-based link luc ua ions.
4.2. Enc yp ed Th oughpu and P ocessing E iciency
Following handshake e alua ion, he second pe o mance me ic analyzed was enc yp ed da a h oughpu du ing
con inuous downlink and uplink ope a ions. Th oughpu e lec s he p o ocol’s sui abili y o handling s eaming
eleme y, senso payloads, o enc yp ed command a ic. Tes ing was conduc ed ac oss ideal and deg aded link
condi ions o all h ee p o ocol con igu a ions.
As shown in Table 3, he ECC-AES baseline achie ed he highes a e age h oughpu unde ideal channel condi ions.
Howe e , he p oposed Kybe p o ocol showed supe io esilience unde link deg ada ion, main aining highe
h oughpu han bo h classical baselines when subjec o packe loss and delay a iance.
Table 3 Enc yp ed Th oughpu (Mbps) Unde Ideal and Deg aded Links
Con igu a ion
Ideal Link
Deg aded Link (3% Loss)
RSA-AES Baseline
8.1
6.4
ECC-AES Hyb id
9.7
7.2
Kybe L3 P oposed
9.1
7.8
These esul s unde sco e Kybe 's obus ness in unp edic able o bi al link en i onmen s. Despi e a mino h oughpu
disad an age unde pe ec condi ions, Kybe su passed bo h al e na i es when packe in eg i y was in e mi en ly
comp omised. I s ixed-leng h key encapsula ion and educed handshake equency helped main ain low con inui y
and educe e ansmission bu e ing delays.
Figu e 2 illus a es hese ends isually, showing p o ocol h oughpu ac oss bo h link condi ions. The gap be ween
ideal and deg aded pe o mance was na owes in he Kybe se up, suppo ing i s iabili y o mission-c i ical da a
handling.
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Figu e 2 Enc yp ed Da a Th oughpu Unde Ideal and Deg aded Links
The Kybe p o ocol’s consis en h oughpu , e en unde deg aded link quali y, indica es i s p ac ical adap abili y o
eal- ime o bi al ope a ions whe e signal ideli y is a iable and bandwid h mus be ully le e aged du ing na ow
communica ion windows.
4.3. Loss Resilience and Re ansmission Beha io
Sa elli e communica ion links a e p one o in e mi en deg ada ion due o Dopple shi s, signal sca e ing, and
a mosphe ic dis up ions. To e alua e p o ocol esilience unde hese condi ions, each con igu a ion was es ed ac oss
h ee simula ed packe loss scena ios (1%, 3%, and 5%). The numbe o e ansmissions and o al payload eco e y
a es we e measu ed ac oss 100 ansmission sessions.
As de ailed in Table 4, he Kybe -based implemen a ion consis en ly equi ed ewe e ansmissions ac oss all loss
le els compa ed o RSA-AES and ECC-AES, while achie ing he highes da a eco e y pe cen age. These esul s e lec
Kybe ’s e icien session caching and loss- ole an handshake design.
Table 4 Re ansmissions and Reco e y Unde Packe Loss Condi ions
Loss Ra e
RSA Re ansmi s
ECC Re ansmi s
Kybe Re ansmi s
Kybe Reco e y (%)
1%
34
28
23
97.2
3%
78
61
50
94.1
5%
123
98
82
90.6
Kybe ’s pe o mance gap widened wi h inc easing loss, highligh ing i s e iciency in hos ile adio en i onmen s. In
addi ion o lowe e ansmission demand, he p o ocol achie ed success ul payload deli e y in o e 90% o cases e en
unde 5% loss—condi ions o en expe ienced in low-ele a ion sa elli e passes o ain- aded Ka-band links.
Figu e 3 plo s he o al e ansmissions pe con igu a ion a each loss a e. The consis en ad an age obse ed in
Kybe ’s beha io aligns wi h i s ixed-size ciphe ex s and simpli ied nego ia ion o e head, educing he need o cos ly
session es a s.
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Figu e 3 To al Re ansmissions Ac oss Inc easing Packe Loss Condi ions
These indings con i m ha CRYSTALS-Kybe p o ides enhanced deli e y e iciency in en i onmen s wi h luc ua ing
link quali y, educing p o ocol cha e and p ese ing eal- ime pe o mance in o bi al channels wi h igh iming and
ene gy budge s.
4.4. Pla o m Resou ce Usage
Resou ce consump ion is a key conce n when deploying c yp og aphic p o ocols on space-limi ed sa elli e pla o ms.
This e alua ion measu ed CPU u iliza ion and memo y oo p in du ing session ini ia ion and sus ained enc yp ion o
each o he h ee p o ocol con igu a ions. Tes s we e conduc ed on simula ed g ound s a ion ha dwa e and on-boa d
sa elli e p ocesso s ep esen a i e o small sa elli e payloads (ARM Co ex-A53 class).
Table 5 epo s he a e age CPU load (as a pe cen age) and peak memo y usage (in MB) on bo h g ound and sa elli e
sys ems du ing handshake and payload enc yp ion ope a ions.
Table 5 A e age Resou ce U iliza ion Du ing C yp og aphic Ope a ion
Pla o m
Con igu a ion
CPU (%)
Memo y (MB)
G ound Node
RSA-AES Baseline
21.7
71.3
ECC-AES Hyb id
19.4
68.9
Kybe L3 P oposed
24.3
73.5
Sa elli e Node
RSA-AES Baseline
42.1
62.7
ECC-AES Hyb id
36.8
59.1
Kybe L3 P oposed
38.2
64.3
While Kybe incu ed a sligh ly highe CPU load han ECC on bo h endpoin s, i s memo y demands we e compa able,
and pe o mance emained wi hin accep able bounds o all es cases. On-boa d CPU usage o Kybe peaked a 38.2%,
which is manageable on mode n small sa elli e ha dwa e, especially du ing dedica ed enc yp ion bu s s a he han
con inuous s eaming.
Figu e 4 isualizes CPU usage ac oss he con igu a ions and pla o ms, highligh ing Kybe ’s e iciency ela i e o RSA
while emaining compe i i e wi h ECC.
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Figu e 4 CPU U iliza ion Ac oss G ound and Sa elli e Endpoin s
The cha e eals Kybe ’s a o able pe o mance o sa elli e deploymen : while sligh ly mo e demanding han ECC, i
o e s s onge c yp og aphic assu ance and ope a es well wi hin con empo a y powe and p ocessing en elopes. The
small addi ional o e head is an accep able adeo in exchange o pos -quan um secu i y.
4.5. Session Resump ion and Reconnec ion E iciency
Sa elli e communica ion links a e inhe en ly in e mi en due o o bi al occlusion, an enna misalignmen , o signal
deg ada ion. E icien session esump ion a e a empo a y ou age is essen ial o minimize econnec ion ime and
p e en epea ed ull handshakes, which consume bo h bandwid h and p ocessing esou ces. This e alua ion measu ed
he a e age ime equi ed o esume a secu e session ollowing a b ie link loss ac oss all h ee p o ocol con igu a ions.
Figu e 5 A e age Session Resump ion Time A e Link In e up ion (ms)
The Kybe p o ocol included a ligh weigh session caching mechanism, enabling eau hen ica ion wi hou ull key
encapsula ion, while RSA-AES and ECC-AES equi ed comple e enego ia ion on econnec . Sessions we e dis up ed
mid- ans e , and econnec ion pe o mance was measu ed o e 50 link es o a ion e en s pe con igu a ion.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2870-2882
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Figu e 5 p esen s he a e age session esump ion ime. Kybe ou pe o med bo h baselines by a signi ican ma gin,
educing econnec ion ime by mo e han 40% compa ed o RSA-AES and by 27% compa ed o ECC-AES.
The educed econnec ion ime in Kybe -enhanced p o ocols e lec s he ad an ages o i s encapsula ed key eco e y
scheme, which enables secu e con inui y wi hou ull c yp og aphic enego ia ion. This capabili y is c i ical o
main aining communica ion in eg i y du ing b ie , equen dis up ions ypical o low Ea h o bi (LEO) passes o
mobile g ound pla o ms.
The indings sugges ha Kybe -based enc yp ion no only p o ides o wa d secu i y bu also enhances usabili y by
educing ic ion du ing econnec ion cycles—an ope a ional necessi y o au onomous sa elli e elays and space- o-
g ound con ol sys ems.
4.6. End- o-End Delay Va iabili y
To e alua e use -pe cei ed la ency du ing li e sa elli e passes, he o al ound- ip delay was measu ed o enc yp ed
command-and- esponse cycles using each p o ocol con igu a ion. This es simula es ope a ional scena ios such as
g ound-ini ia ed da a que ies o con ol ins uc ions sen o o bi al asse s, ollowed by acknowledgmen esponses.
Measu emen s cap u ed handshake ime, payload enc yp ion, ansmission delay, and p ocessing ime ac oss he uplink
and downlink pa hs.
The es en i onmen in oduced ealis ic la ency luc ua ion due o o bi al mo ion and link a enua ion, wi h ound-
ip la encies spanning 150 ms o 320 ms. Fo each con igu a ion, delay dis ibu ions we e eco ded o e 100
in e ac ion cycles.
Figu e 6 displays he dis ibu ion o ound- ip enc yp ion delays in boxplo o ma . The Kybe p o ocol demons a ed
igh e a iance and a sligh ly lowe median han bo h RSA and ECC, wi h ewe high-la ency ou lie s. This pe o mance
is a ibu ed o i s mo e consis en session handling and lowe isk o e ansmission- igge ed enego ia ions.
Figu e 6 Enc yp ed End- o-End Delay Dis ibu ion O e 100 In e ac ions
These esul s ein o ce Kybe ’s iabili y in ime-sensi i e applica ions such as sa elli e heal h eleme y, maneu e
con ol, o ime-windowed da a exchange. I s educed delay ola ili y imp o es p edic abili y o sys ems ha equi e
synch onized ac ion be ween g ound and space nodes, which is inc easingly impo an in au onomous o bi al ne wo ks.
4.7. P o ocol Scalabili y and Load Beha io
To assess how well each p o ocol scales unde concu en session load, he sys em was es ed wi h an inc easing
numbe o simul aneous enc yp ion sessions. This scena io models use cases such as mul i-g ound s a ion uplinks o a
sa elli e cons ella ion o sa elli e ac ing as a elay hub ac oss mul iple downlinks. Fo each con igu a ion, session
