Blockchain tech to the moon....literally

Just when I thought blockchain technology had been applied to everything, I came across this. Yes the blockchain is being applied to the space industry. As in all industries the blockchain is applied to, it will lower the barrier to entry, provide new funding models, decentralize specific processes as well as allow anyone to contribute to the progression of projects and support the network. Democratizing space with the blockchain will take an industry dominated by governments and the super rich and open it up to smaller players giving them a chance to fund their ideas in novel ways and contribute to this new frontier.

Time is money, so is space

2017 saw an explosion of blockchain projects and funding for them. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection could invest in a project they believed in and receive tokens in return. Applying this fundraising model to space exploration will open doors to smaller organizations looking to get a piece of the space industry pie. SpaceX is a prime example of how the space industry barriers are slowly being broken down. Massive amounts of capital are needed, but nonetheless demonstrates how this industry is no longer restricted to governments and wealthy nations. Decentralizing this industry with the blockchain will de-monopolize space exploration and the projects surrounding it. This will also bring with it a plethora of innovation and competition previously restricted by lack of funding, staffing, and access to data kept by centralized space authorities (NASA, ESA).

NASA

With over $300,000, NASA funded an Ethereum based blockchain project to develop a decentralized, automated system, termed the Resilient Network and Computing Paradigm (RNCP), for detecting potential environmental threats. Dr. Jin Wei Kocsis says,

 "In this project, the Ethereum blockchain technology will be exploited to develop a decentralized, secure, and cognitive networking and computing infrastructure for deep space exploration. The blockchain consensus protocols will be further explored to improve the resilience of the infrastructure[…] I hope to develop technology that can recognize environmental threats and avoid them, as well as complete a number of tasks automatically." 

Applying the blockchain to existing systems will provide a more reliable means of communication, data transfer and storage as well as automate previous manual processes, freeing up resources for other tasks.   

You know blockchain is a big deal whenever NASA wants in on it.

Commercialization of space

In the coming decades, the space industry is projected to grow substantially. Currently valued at around $350 billion, it is projected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2040. Funding will be needed and money making opportunities will be ripe for the picking. Space tourism will be a large sector as will space mineral harvesting, exploration, colonization, research and space construction. There will not be a shortage of investment opportunity. 

Space Decentral

Space Decentral is a DAO focused on bringing together engineers, physicists and anyone with an interest in space exploration to contribute ideas, funds, and resources to an ever growing commercial space industry. Tokens can be bought for financial contributions as well as earned for contributing to project plans and knowledge.

Coral

Named after the coral found on ocean floors for its mineral-extracting properties, Coral is a collection of projects led by Space Decentral aimed at accomplishing the task of utilizing the moon's natural resources to construct inhabitable structures. Coral aims to employ blockchain technology developed by Aragon, Giveth and Harbour Project in its venture to provide an open source, crowdfunded space program. 

Spacechain 

Spacechain is less interested in space exploration and research and more focused on utilizing satellites to extend the existing earthbound blockchain infrastructure into space. This will greatly lower the barrier for smaller ventures to have access to satellite technologies and enable them to build space-based applications. The satellites will be blockchain nodes used for the processing and transmission of information as well as information storage and the development of applications. Their Spacechain OS will enable developers to quickly and securely build and launch applications in space, without the need to put their own satellite into orbit. Their native token will permit use of their satellite and incentive users to participate in network support. Spacechain has attracted the likes of investment from Tim Draper who has invested in Tesla and SpaceX, as well as Bitcoin core developer and Bloq CEO Jeff Garzik.

 

Blockstream 

Blockstream also wants to put satellites to work to bring the blockchain to everyone in the world. They want to broadcast the bitcoin network all across the globe, specifically to people with limited internet access in developing countries. This service will enable those with a satellite dish and USB SDR (software-defined radio), all costing around 100$, to interact with and use bitcoin's blockchain. Blockstream has already launched 3 satellites into orbit covering North and South America, Europe and Africa. Blockstream is currently leasing bandwith frommthese 3 satellites

Nexus

Nexus aims to provide the world access to its cryptocurrency and blockchain with its underlying mesh network powered by satellites. It is quite similar to some of the above projects and basically wants to give blockchain a global reach using satellites.  

Conclusion

Applying the blockchain to space further decentralizes the movement by allowing mesh networks independent of centralized internet providers to be set up. It also greatly lowers the barrier to entry for those interested in being a part of the many commercial space sectors to come in the next few decades. Taking the power from governments and allowing anyone interested to contribute will bring about great strides in the progression of space exploration, research and development. 

References

Donovan, P. A. (2018, July 24). Introducing Coral, an Open Lunar Space Program – Space Decentral – Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/spacedecentral/introducing-coral-an-open-lunar-space-program-702e293c9869 

 Foust, J. (2018, July 06). A trillion-dollar space industry will require new markets. Retrieved from https://spacenews.com/a-trillion-dollar-space-industry-will-require-new-markets/ 

Grush, L. (2018, February 16). How the private space industry could take over lower Earth orbit - and make money off it. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/16/17014176/nasa-iss-commercial-space-industry-budget-2025-privatization

O'Neal, S. (2018, August 15). Houston, We Have a Solution: Blockchain in the Space Industry. Retrieved from https://cointelegraph.com/news/here-is-how-blockchain-will-help-to-explore-space 

 Prisco, G. (2017, August 15). Blockstream Satellite: Broadcasting Bitcoin from Space. Retrieved from https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/blockstream-satellite-broadcasting-bitcoin-space/ 

Sarnecky, O. (2018, March 31). Transforming Space Industry with Blockchain Technology. Retrieved from https://hackernoon.com/transforming-space-industry-with-blockchain-technology-747c27601bba 

Spacechain whitepaper. (2018, May). Retrieved from https://spacechain.com/SpaceChain-0319-1.0-EN.pdf

SpaceChain Foundation. (2018, March 02). All you need to know about SpaceChain in 4 minutes – SpaceChain Foundation – Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@spacechain/all-you-need-to-know-about-spacechain-in-5-minutes-1f755f3c4650 

Sanders, B. (2018, May 08). Space Decentral: The DAO for Space Exploration – Giveth – Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/giveth/space-decentral-the-dao-for-space-exploration-2af372d310af