Authors: Alessandro Santorsola, Daniele Mammone, Stefano Longari, Francesco Topputo and Matteo Mergè

Satellite communications represent a cornerstone in modern information and communication systems, enabling a wide range of applications from global positioning and weather monitoring to critical infrastructure management and emergency response. As these systems become increasingly interconnected, their exposure to sophisticated cyber threats grows significantly. The susceptibility of satellite infrastructures to cyber attacks highlights the urgent need for developing, testing, and validating robust security solutions. Cyber ranges represent essential tools for cybersecurity research and testing. This paper presents a novel system-level simulation framework specifically designed for cyber range applications, enabling end-to-end emulation of GEO satellite links from ground stations to space and vice versa. The goal is to provide a realistic and flexible testbed that can support the assessment of security measures, incident response strategies, and the resilience of satellite-ground communications against various attack scenarios.