SpaceChain AMA with Zee & Jeff — Aug 27, 2020
On Aug 27, the community came together on SpaceChain’s telegram channel to ask CEO Zee Zheng and CTO Jeff Garzik questions. We have compiled the AMA here from our SpaceChain English Community Telegram Group. Thank you for your participation.
1. Can you outline the goals and activities for the rest of 2020 and early 2021?
Zee: For SpaceChain, 2020 started with very strong momentum. Our ISS (International Space Station) launch last December helped validate our technology. We gained a lot of traction and recognition from our customers and partners. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic happened and there were some plans we had to pause or delay. However, we are still going ahead really strong. We are expecting another two launches with SpaceX vehicle in the next 9 to 12 months. We are also kicking off a couple of other blockchain and space projects with European Space Agency, Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore. So stay tune.
2. What are a few challenges SpaceChain is facing?
Zee:
- We are leading the industry to explore the integration of blockchain and space technologies, so there is a lot of education that needs to be done. But, we are glad that we have made a lot of progress in that area. Last year, we collaborated with Satellite Applications Catapult to host a blockchain satellite education workshop in Oxford. And this year we did another workshop with Singapore Space Technology Association during GSTC 2020. It is exciting to see an increasing number of people who are interested in what we are doing.
- The space industry is very traditional and generally slow, while the blockchain industry is growing at a significant rate. To coordinate resources from both industries have been a challenge. We have been working with top institutions in the space industry and truly gained a lot of help as a startup.
- We have an awesome team that achieved a lot in the past three years, and we are looking forward to growing bigger and bigger. It has been difficult finding technical talents that understand both space and blockchain technologies. If you do know of anyone, do contact our admin.
3. One thing I think you guys can improve on is promoting SpaceChain using social media and YouTube influencers. How are you guys getting the word out for this amazing project?
Zee: Thank you so much for the advice. We have been doing AMAs, blog posts and social media campaigns frequently. And we are quite active on Twitter. Please follow our Twitter account at https://twitter.com/SpaceChain.
4. How are you guys coming along for new exchanges? Out here in the U.S., we have no access for purchasing SPC tokens.
Jeff: We are investigating what it takes to connect our token to Uniswap and other DEX exchanges for wider token access. I think plugging the SPC token into DeFi exchanges, and loans and other products will help with that.
5. Blockstream recently sent bitcoin to an ex-NASA astronaut (on Earth) from space. So how is SpaceChain the first?
Jeff: Our transaction was first, but we could not publicize it for several weeks.
Zee: It is also different. The transaction we did was signed by an actual hardware that is installed inside the International Space Station. However, what Blockstream did was to utilize a satellite to broadcast blockchain information.
6. Are you building a constellation of satellites? Isn’t it similar to what SpaceX’s Starlink is doing?
Zee: We are not building our own constellation. However, we wish to work with other space companies to build a constellation that will be a decentralized infrastructure.
Jeff: The Decentralized Satellite Infrastructure (DSI) is a mesh network in space. A blockchain registry is used to store public keys that enable satellite encryption in the network. This provides an economic, authentication and governance layer for any satellite owner to join the network as a node. This also allows multiple different types of satellites to form a single uber constellation, enabling multiple payloads on multiple satellites with multiple owners and tenants.
The satellite industry has been single owner, single payload and single tenant for decades, and now that is changing. The DSI working group connects with launch partners, satellite manufacturing partners, and customers, and brings them all together. Users use the network by sending a request to a satellite via the blockchain enabled mesh network. Blockchain token payments are sent alongside the payload request, paying the satellite owner for their time.
7. When can coin-related companies and ordinary people store BTC, ETH, and SPC in the space wallet?
Zee: It is already happening. Like I mentioned earlier, we are having two SpaceX launches in the next 9 to 12 months, made possible by our exchange and wallet partners. For the last launch, we focused on Bitcoin. For future launches, we are going to expand to more blockchains and tokens, such as ETH, standard ERC tokens, and stable coins etc.
8. Coin exchange hacking occurs frequently. Do you think the hacking problem can be solved by using SpaceChain’s space blockchain technology, which has a low transmission speed but high security?
Zee: Hacking is one of the biggest threats for cryptocurrency. However, it is a common misunderstanding that “bitcoin was hacked”. It is wrong. Bitcoin was operating as it was designed, and it was always the people that do not manage it well that causes the cryptocurrency to get stolen. We are using our multisignature space technology to reduce human errors, provide longer time for responses and trace funds, and also offer an alternative method to transmit data when there is a critical or a large transaction to be done.
9. How can we start building on SpaceChain’s technology and accessing the nodes to build our own apps? What is the process like and how does token utility come into play?
Zee: We are releasing a SpaceChain hardware board for development. There will also be developer guideline released on GitHub. Our marketing team is working hard on preparing all the essential materials that you need for development and connecting with SpaceChain’s technology. Please follow our social channels for more details.
10. What do you think are the advantages of blockchain in space than on Earth?
Zee: There are still many places that do not have land infrastructure. And, blockchain in space can help as it is accessible through satellite infrastructure.
* Note: This compilation of AMA questions & answers have been carefully revised to improve the grammar and readability.
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