Simulation and Mitigation of False Data Injection Cyberattacks on a Space Nuclear Reactor Power System

This paper investigates the response of the DynMo-CBC space nuclear reactor power system to simulated cybersecurity attacks during a startup transient and demonstrates the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. The system nominally generates 134 kW(electric) continuously for 12 years and does not have a single-point failure in reactor cooling and energy conversion. The reactor core is divided into three hydraulically independent sectors, each having a separate loop with a single shaft, closed Brayton cycle (CBC) turbomachinery unit. A He-Xe gas mixture with a molecular weight of 40 g/mol cools the reactor core sectors and is the CBC unit's working fluid.