SpaceChain Foundation’s Blockchain Hardware Is Installed on the International Space Station

SpaceChain Foundation is excited to announce that our blockchain hardware embedded with the multisignature wallet technology has been installed on the International Space Station (ISS). The installation was conducted by astronaut Jessica Meir, who is also a marine biologist, physiologist, and more recently, the participant of the first all women space walk. In addition, you can track the node to its exact location in orbit. Read more about the installation here.

Year in Review

Take a journey through 2019 where we showcase our milestones, achievements, and growth in the Year In Review! With each passing year, we are striving to realise the dream of a New Space Economy.

SpaceChain Foundation strives to constantly add more functionalities and improve existing the framework with each launch. For example, we have increased our capabilities to process 100 transactions per transmission, compared to 1 transaction per transmission previously.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

SpaceChain Foundation Aims To Unlock The Potential Of The New Space Economy
In this interview with Superb Crew, SpaceChain Foundation CTO Jeff Garzik shares more about the collaboration with Core Semiconductor, and the challenges they might face while solving a myriad of problems from security to privacy through blockchain. Read the interview here.
Fossa Systems’ Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Julian Fernandez about issues around picosatellites, open-source space and the future of the space industry.

https://medium.com/blogspacechain/spacechain-june-2020-monthly-report-57a3f104c15f

As part of our series of interviews with space and blockchain industry thought leaders, we had a chat with Fossa Systems’ Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Julian Fernandez about issues around picosatellites, open-source space and the future of the space industry.

Fossa Systems is dedicated to the development of open- source picosatellites enabling experimental worldwide IoT connectivity and democratising space. Learn more about Fossa Systems here and check out their GitHub repository.

1. What made you decide to set up Fossa Systems?

Julian: My interest in space and COTS hardware spans back to 2017 when I started working on femtosatellites (Sub 100g spacecraft). I have also worked on various IoT related projects for remote asset monitorisation. This last experience further taught me the need for remote IoT connectivity.

Fossa Systems was initially created in response to the market need for inexpensive and fast solutions regarding worldwide connectivity. Our goal is to democratise access to space and telecommunications as a hardware manufacturer. This means developing inexpensive satellite platforms and operating these low-cost systems.

We actually started Fossa Systems as a non-profit project on an online forum in 2018. Back then, we were students and needed a cheap way of getting to space.

2. How does a free and open-source mentality contribute to the development of the New Space industry?

Julian: Our name Fossa Systems indicates Free Open Source Software and Aerospace Systems. As such, open source is a major part of our business model. We believe it is imperative that we develop space technology in an open manner for the benefit of all.
This can be perfectly linked to a successful business model as we are demonstrating with the launch of three satellites to this date. New Space is a rapidly developing and advancing industry where secrecy only constitutes an impediment to the general advancement of the market.

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3. ...https://medium.com/blogspacechain/the-open-source-revolution-in-outer-space-2beedf438b50

SpaceChain Foundation Invests in Core Semiconductor to Produce Open Hardware Platform for Direct Satellite-to-Devices Communication

Initiative furthers SpaceChain Foundation’s decentralised network infrastructure vision and uncovers new possibilities for Internet of Things (IoT) applications

SINGAPORE — May 19, 2020 — SpaceChain Foundation today announced it has contracted and invested in Core Semiconductor, an innovator in provably secure computing platforms for all connected devices, to produce the world’s first open-source hardware platform capable of providing a downlink to mobile phones and small devices directly from satellites in orbit, without the use of a satellite dish on Earth or a third-party network.

With security inherently built-in, the technology is designed with the blockchain industry in mind and to bring blockchain applications to a global user base.

Core Semiconductor has designed the platform to be small enough to fit inside any handheld device. With a commodity price point, the platform is affordable and is easy to deploy, making it perfect for any company or hobbyist to incorporate. The technology is designed for low bitrate applications of around 1250 bytes per minute, making it ideal for verifying blockchain hashes and encrypted signatures.
“GPS is a low data rate protocol that has transformed the way we navigate the world and created over US$400 billion in equity value,” said Jeff Garzik, SpaceChain Foundation co-founder and CTO. “We want to do the same for emerging digital economies. Adding secure direct downlink and location capability to devices on a robust multi-layer global decentralised infrastructure will bring blockchain to mass adoption.”

As the hardware platform is open-source, anyone can verify the security and correctness of the design themselves, directly on GitHub. The public is encouraged to check out the code and test it out at https://github.com/coresemi and https://github.com/coresemi/gnss-baseband.

“We look forward to our long-term partnership with SpaceChain as we collectively uncover new possibilities and opportunities with next-generation open-source innovations,” said Jeff Dionne, CEO, Core Semiconductor. “This milestone underscores how we can unlock the benefits of the New Space Economy.”

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https://medium.com/blogspacechain/spacechain-foundation-invests-in-core-semiconductor-to-produce-open-hardware-platform-for-direct-24256de19fad