Technology

Why did SpaceChain initially start with Qtum?

There are a variety of reasons for adopting Qtum technology including but not limited to, benefits such as having a low power consumption proof of stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Qtum has one of the best working PoS smart contract platforms out there.

Proof of work (PoW) burns a lot of energy but PoS does not. Satellites/blockchain are a scared resource in terms of electricity and battery power so we don’t want to burn a lot of energy. PoS provides the stability we want and utilizes low power consumption. Now, we currently have 2 ERC-based tokens.

Where can the open-source code be found?

Please check out our GitHub repository here.

What is the difference between having a blockchain on Earth as opposed to in space?

Blockchain technology is hosted on centralized servers on Earth and is vulnerable to hacking. One way to prevent this issue is to get these platforms on a decentralized network such as SpaceChain’s blockchain-based network of satellites. Blockchain technology in space will be safer from other vulnerabilities such as physical theft. In addition, blockchain technology in space will prove as a great use case for supply chains especially since there are certain places on Earth that are outside of coverage zones such as oceans, deserts, and forests. These satellites will be able to track, monitor, and scan these dead zones.

A use case question for the GPS module: Will you have enough coverage around the Earth to enable reception anytime, anywhere in the world?

We want to build a coverage communication network that covers the entire world. But that will take some time to do as we have to build the blockchain infrastructure from scratch. In the meantime, we can utilize the existing satellite network to do that. Our space node is a blockchain node that enables storage and calculation, and our ground device is a ground node.

The concept of a coverage region is only for Geostationary (GEO) satellites. For low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, those limitations don’t exist as they move at very high speed and aren’t fixed in space in relation to the earth. We can provide the service by using the existing satellite network, and the service area will depend on community demand.

Can you expand it to a multi-satellite network with cross-satellite communications?

Yes, we are able to expand to cross-satellite communication with the existing satellite network, and the Iridium system is one of those options.

SpaceChain is one of the longest roadmaps in Qtum dApp. What is the current development focus for SpaceChain?

We are focused on turning satellites into blockchain nodes, and we are developing our own space node. Our focus is also on developing our software (OS and Applications) as well as our hardware (space and ground).

Will SpaceChain have a mainnet in the future?

We are focusing on building a SpaceChain OS that is compatible with many different public chains. We’ve integrated with Qtum, and more recently Ethereum. We do not have a plan to launch our mainnet at this moment, but we do want to integrate more public chains to interact with more open-source communities. Right now, we have more recently integrated Bitcoin blockchain and the Ethereum blockchain.

How can we utilize the satellite signals from the node? Do you plan on having coverage for the entire world without the use of the Internet or will we still need to utilize the Internet?

We are developing consumer-based storage services. Essentially we’ll only be hosting the service that facilitates the upload/download activity. We are definitely not planning to “replace” the Internet. We are working on utilizing space technology to better serve the blockchain industry and using blockchain technologies to serve the space industry.

Why is the project taking so long to achieve its goal?

Our project requires extensive preparation and overhead costs to get it moving. Unlike other projects, we require both software and hardware. However, SpaceChain has already launched two blockchain nodes into space in its first year on February 2, 2018, and October 25, 2018. The more recent ones will be the Bitcoin multisig in December 2019 and most recently, the Ethereum multisig in June 2021.

How long does the satellite need to transfer the data?

It depends on the capacity of the satellites. Most of the CubeSats have limited bandwidth and it takes a longer time to complete an upload/download. The pros of launching small satellites are that they are cheap and build time is faster. We will have opportunities to test these out before we commit and invest in building big ones.