Presentation made on 10/26/2020 outlining the launch of the first private blockchain into space on the Firefly Aerospace rocket planned for late December, 2020. This presentation is delivered by Hasshi Sudler and Alejandro Gomez of Villanova University and Elizabeth Kennick and Joe Latrell of Teachers In Space.
2. Hasshi Sudler
Adjunct Professor
Villanova University
Alejandro Gomez
Graduate Student
Villanova University
Elizabeth Kennick
President
Teachers in Space, Inc.
Joe Latrell
Chief Engineer
Teachers In Space, Inc.
Blockchain Satellites
The Project Team
4. • Villanova University and Teachers in Space to launch
satellite experiment on Firefly Aerospace rocket
• Testing first private blockchain in space
• ‘Serenity’ CubeSat hosts a Blockchain node
• Satellite links with multiple ground blockchain nodes
• Transact existing data between satellites
Blockchain Satellites – A Project Overview
Terrestrial Nodes Satellite Node
Data transactions
5. An Overview of Blockchain
Blockchain Wallet
User A
Blockchain Wallet
User B
Block 0 Transaction 1
Block 0 Transaction 2
Block 0 Transaction 4
Block 0 Transaction 3
Block 0 Transaction n
Block 0
…
Block 1 Transaction 1
Block 1 Transaction 2
Block 1 Transaction 3
Block 1 Transaction n
Cryptographic hash of Block 0
Block 1
…
Block 2 Transaction 1
Block 2 Transaction 2
Block 2 Transaction 3
Block 2 Transaction n
Cryptographic hash of Block 1
Block 2
…
Asset Management Payments Public Records Supply Chain Management
An Overview of Blockchain
6. Growth in Nanosatellite Launches
Growth Drivers:
• More launch opportunities
• Declining cost per launch
• Miniaturization of satellites
7. • To mature Intersatellite links (ISLs)
• To create reliable transaction pathways
between various satellites
• To enable a group of satellites to work as a
network of data relay nodes
• To improve communications bandwidth
between Earth and satellite nodes even
when out of range of ground stations
• Increase time window for communications
between satellites and ground stations
Goals for inter-satellite transactions
Optimization of Intersatellite Routing for Real-Time Data Download
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8315466
8. Why Blockchains for Space Satellites
• The ability for satellites to transact information
with one another
• Create reliable and immutable record of data
transactions
• Leverage existing satellites in orbit for unique data
• Usher in intersatellite commerce
• Satellite monetization
9. The Emerging Field of Blockchains in Space
• SpaceChain – Introduced Qtum, a public blockchain
on satellites
• Blockstream – hosts Bitcoin on a satellite network
and on the International Space Station (ISS)
• Other future applications:
• TruSat – blockchain to record all satellite orbital paths
• Store data in space
• Tokenize valuable resources mined from asteroids
10. Blockchain Specifications for Satellites
• Ethereum Private
• Consensus model: Proof-of-Authority
• Ratio of signer nodes:
(n + t) / 2 < |V| < n – t
• n is the number of blockchain nodes
• t is the number of attacker nodes
• V is the number of required signer nodes
• 5 node blockchain running on AWS EC2 servers
• 4 ground nodes
• 1 LEO satellite node
• Future launches to test several satellites on a private blockchain
13. Circuit Design
• Blocks of code that can trigger transactions
• Executes transaction when a condition is met
• Uses Solidity, a Turing-complete language
• Can perform verification of data exchanges
• Can trigger payment for data once data is
confirmed received
• Can execute transactions for future data requests
– futures contracts
Smart Contracts
14. Blockchain Transaction Experiments
• Deploy smart contracts to and from orbiting
satellite
• Transact between ground and satellite for
information
• Measure impact on blockchain gossip protocol
for orbiting satellite
• Measure impact of transaction fulfillment for
orbiting satellite with different sized contracts
15. Blockchain Satellite Experiments
The experiment will test:
• If nodes are able to synchronize at different network
bandwidths
• If smart contract transactions can take place at different
bandwidths
• If smart contracts of different sizes can be deployed
successfully at different bandwidths
• Test transactions as the satellite enters and leaves views
of ground station.
16. Mission Schedule
• 30 days in orbit
• T+5 days to T+15 days
• perform controlled blockchain experiments
• T+16 days to T+30 days
• open blockchain to larger audience for load testing
17. • Blockchain is
synchronized when it is
within field-of-view of
ground station.
• Smart contract
determines if a
transaction can take
place or not, based on
transaction cost.
• Additional nodes can be
added to the private
blockchain.
Blockchain Satellite Network
Villanova
Blockchain nodes
Serenity Blockchain node
HQ
3rd Party
Blockchain node
Connected via HTTP
Provisioned via AWS
AWS
node
node
18. Teachers In Space and Launch Vehicle
Elizabeth Kennick
President
Teachers in Space, Inc.
19. Teachers In Space (TIS)
• 2009 Started as a project of the Space Frontier Foundation
• 2010 NASA funded teacher workshops, balloon flights
• 2014 Incorporated as 501c3 in New York
• 2015 Perlan Project stratospheric cubesat flights
• 2016 Parabolic flights testing commercial spacesuit
• 2019 NASA grant for Blue Origin suborbital cubesat flight
• 2020 First orbital cubesat flight awarded by Firefly Aerospace
• FUTURE: Suborbital Spaceflights for Teachers!!
20. Teachers In Space: Leadership
Elizabeth Kennick, President: Former VP of
Client Technology at Morgan Stanley.
Certified Project Management
Professional and Network Engineer.
Joel Jackel, Treasurer: Science, Astronomy
and Astrophysics Teacher at Forest Hills
High School, Queens, NY. Amateur Rocket
builder and spacesuit costumes creator
Chris Murphy, Director of Balloon
Missions: Science and Living Environment
Teacher at Gloversville Enlarged School
District, New York. Founder of High
Altitude Achievement balloon club.
Joe Latrell, Director of Engineering: Rocket
Scientist and Creator of the Teachers in
Space Classroom Cubesat Kits, Arduino
Starter Kits, and Serenity Orbital Satellite
Carol Pinchefsky, Board of Directors:
Freelance Writer of geek culture,
technology, science and business,
published on Hewlett-Packard Enterprise
Insights, SyFy.com, Forbes, MacLife, more
Peter Wainwright, Board of Directors:
Cofounded SpaceFuture.com, home to
nearly 200 papers on space tourism etc, and
senior partner in Space Future Consulting
international consultancy group
21. • 1u Cube-shaped Frame 10cm sides 3d printed < 2 ounces
• Lightweight, low cost, easily assembled. Print your own or shop our website
• Processor boards, sensors, data storage: Arduino or Raspberry Pi
• Experimental materials, sample collection
• Flies on balloons, aircraft
• 2u Frame 20x10x10cm 3d printed
• Carries two or more experiments
• USB port for power and data
• 2019 Suborbital spaceflight Blue Origin
• 3u Serenity Orbital Satellite
TIS Classroom Cubekits for Schools: 1u to 3u
22. Serenity Satellite: HAMs can Communicate!
Lancaster, PA Cedar Grove, NY Anywhere!!
24 October 2020 www.Teachers-in-Space.com
23. Getting Data from Serenity
• Find a HAM operator or club (American Radio Relay League ARRL.org)
• Use a COTS software defined radio system (SDR) such as RTL-SDR.com
• Serenity’s Call Sign will be WU2M
• Serenity’s Public Channel is called Mode 2 (M2)
• Frequency range: 437.1
• Timing: from about 1 day after launch, to about 30 days later (January 2021?)
• Communications are half-duplex: Listen, Receive, Transmit
• Choice of three commands: STATUS, LIST, RAD
24 October 2020 www.Teachers-in-Space.com
24. Mode2 Commands
• Command Construction: [Satellite],[Station],[Mode],[Command]
– Satellite Call sign: WU2M
– Station: Your radio operator’s call sign
– Mode: M2 is the public mode available to HAMs
– Command: Choice of: STATUS, LIST, or RAD
• STATUS: Returns a summary of satellite and sensor health
– H: Satellite Health 0 – Problem; 1 – Healthy
– BA / BB: Battery Percentage (A and B) 00-99
– S: Solar Panel Voltage 00.00-20.00
– LT / LN: Latitude / Longitude +/-123.1234
– DT: Date / Time 00:00:00:00 YYYY/MM/DD
• LIST: Returns List of stations contacting Serenity in past 7 days
• RAD: Returns list of dosimeter readings from the Radiation Experiment
24 October 2020 www.Teachers-in-Space.com
33. • Can we better protect astronauts in space?
• Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) Gel
• Twin Dosimeters (BG51)
• Manufactured by Teviso
• PZT Gel
• Control
Primary Experiment
34. • Twin Redundant Battery Chargers
• 10 IXSYS Solar Cells
• Twin Lithium Polymer Batteries
• 3.7v
• 6Ah
Power Distribution Unit
35. Orbital Path
• Perigee altitude:
300 km
• Apogee altitude:
300 km
• Inclination angle:
137 degrees
Inclination 137o
36. The Future of Space Commerce
• Addressing the sustainability of space
• An opportunity to leverage existing data
across satellites
• Opening the door to satellite monetization
• Ushering in a new space economy
Thank you!
