TECHNOLOGY

What is the difference between blockchain on Earth and in space ?

Blockchain technology is hosted on centralized servers on Earth and 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 internet kill switches or governments that are against the technology. 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.

Why do you need to be dependent on 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 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. Adopting Qtum also gives developers everywhere a platform to build on and publish their applications on our satellites.

What is the purpose of the SpaceChain OS ?

Satellites traditionally have a single owner with a single function. Its function can’t be changed once it is launched. SpaceChain OS is a software platform that provides a hyper-secure sandbox between space applications. When a satellite is installed with SpaceChain OS, it is able to convert from a single function satellite to one with multi-tenant operation access.

If the satellite hardware isn’t a limitation, then we can change the functions of a satellite while it’s in orbit. In addition, SpaceChain OS can support smart contract technology. Overall, with our unique SpaceChain OS, everyone now has the opportunity to develop their own application and upload it to a satellite easily and affordably.

From a hardware perspective, will it have a GPS module? How large would the data storage facility be ?

For satellites, it will have a GPS module but no camera. The data storage is over 30GB.

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? For example, something similar to the the Iridium satellite constellation where there are around 77 Iridium satellites hovering at low altitude to cover the entire world.

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).

When Qtum and dApp are used in the SpaceChain, is it possible for other cryptocurrencies to be used for SpaceChain nodes ?

We are currently integrating Ethereum into our OS so that it can support both Qtum and Ethereum and developers can create dApps on either Qtum or Ethereum.

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 are now working on 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. However, this is a fast-growing industry, and we will be closely observing to decide what is the best route for the development of the project.

Can SpaceChain OS run on third-party satellites or does it rely on proprietary hardware ?

We’re currently focused on an open-source hardware method as well as open satellite design so, in theory, yes, SpaceChain OS maintains the capability to run on other satellites.

The project is a Qtum dApp (aka Qtum smart contract and sylixos.com) that is a child chain on the Qtum chain. As of right now, accessing the satellite node has to be done through the Internet. Eventually, will users be able to perform an off-grid or a solar-powered transaction to the satellite ?

As of right now, the connection to the satellites will be through ground stations (located in China and the UK), but portable devices will allow individuals to directly communicate with these satellites.

Can SPC be mined by Proof of stake ?

SPC are QTUM standard tokens that are issued on the QTUM network. No mining mechanism is currently in place.

Is there a GitHub repository for the code contributions ?

Please check our GitHub repository here.

Where can the open-source code be found ?

Please check out our GitHub repository here.

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 launched its first satellite node into space on February 2, 2018.

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 on building big ones.

Will we have masternodes ?

No, no masternodes. Today, Qtum P2P nodes. In the future, we’ll have SpaceChain blockchain P2P nodes.

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