$ 87,502.8
$ 2,030.00
$ 0.7403
$ 628.31
$ 139.08
May 27, 2022
SpaceX Rocket Launches First Crypto Satellite Into Space
Cryptosat launched Crypto1, a crypto satellite module, from Space Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket heading for SpaceX's Transport 5 mission yesterday, marking the first time blockchain technology has been flown into space.
Cryptosat's objective is to develop satellites that will power cryptographic, blockchain, and ledger applications.
“We believe that satellites possess unique properties that make them well suited for these tasks, and by launching these platforms into space we can unlock new and exciting opportunities in the realm of computing,” the company said.
“We’re basically joining the Uber of spaceflight,” said Yonatan Winetraub, the co-founder of Cryptosat. “Everybody goes into the same orbit, and we’re one of the passengers.”
The satellite will provide cryptographic services
“SpaceX launched a bunch of satellites, each one of them is doing something else. It doesn’t matter for our service. We are hoping to use our satellite to provide cryptographic services for our customers here on Earth, which won’t interfere with the other satellites at all.”
“Working with a space asset is not the same as working here on Earth,” said Cryptosat’s Yan Michalevsky. “On the ground, if something goes wrong, you just open a terminal and debug it. When it happens in space, that’s not always available.”
He also stated that the launch will be the first of its kind, as it will be the first cryptography system "not reliant on other businesses' satellites." In the future, the business plans to implement zero-knowledge-proof protocols.
Zero-knowledge proof is an advanced encryption technique for safely verifying transaction data that is commonly utilized in voting procedures for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Michalevsky added:
“There’s a lot of need for this. If we’re looking into protocols, especially in Web3, there are whole financial systems and smart contract systems, kind of digital legal agreements that depend on the trustworthiness of the cryptography behind it.”
Michalevsky further stated that space communication would be done via radio frequency, rendering the devices inaccessible to hackers on Earth.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading crypto assets comes with a risk of financial loss.
Prabhjeet Bhatla is a cryptocurrency writer covering startups and a researcher since 2020. She has authored many articles for Entrepreneur India and APAC (digital and print) on cryptocurrency and ever-evolving Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies. She specializes in applied cryptography, privacy-enhanced information storage systems, anonymous cryptocurrencies, elliptic curve crypto-systems, and satellite television piracy.