PE-20 - Asset Monitoring and Tracking

Employ [Assignment: organization-defined asset location technologies] to track and monitor the location and movement of [Assignment: organization-defined assets] within [Assignment: organization-defined controlled areas].


ID: PE-20
Enhancements: 

Space Segment Guidance

Although satellites often broadcast their orbital elements publicly or via the Space-Track.org catalog, this control ensures that each onboard component is accounted for throughout its lifecycle. While traditional asset monitoring might mean attaching GPS tags to sensitive ground-based equipment, an equivalent measure in orbit might involve tracking hardware modules through operational status checks and version-control updates. For instance, the spacecraft can log each time a component reports a significant change—like a solar array "in-op" or an updated firmware revision. Engineers compare these logs with mission baseline documents to ensure consistency. Furthermore, if the satellite supports on-orbit servicing or refueling, extra vigilance is needed to track any external device that "docks" with the platform. By instituting systematic component tracking, the mission lessens the chance of "ghost modules" or stealth hardware modifications that could enable unauthorized data access or degrade spacecraft performance.