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, Original author: Monica Hernandez, compiled by Odaily translator Katie Ku
A new cosmic epoch has arrived, and we are witnessing the emergence of new things and advanced technological developments for space missions. This burst of technological advancement has profound implications for the pace and efficiency with which space research, travel and exploration reach milestones.
Governments and the ISS have been collaborating with private companies and research institutions. Due to the high cost and technical complexity, development in the space field is multi-stakeholder and multi-stakeholder. I know this firsthand because in 2017 I took up the position of Global Communications Manager at Astra Rocket Company, where my job content focused on the development of advanced plasma electric propulsion technologies for space transportation.Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the universe. Space promises adventure, and it shows us some of the complex challenges that civilizations need to address in their development. The current global space ecosystem is gradually developing. The traditional model of cyber security in space is to protect sensitive information related to national security and strengthen centralized computing servers and cloud-based architectures. With the widespread use of peer-to-peer (P2P)-based infrastructure, people are looking for ways to avoid mistakes.
Recently I have been researching the development of space cooperation between government and private enterprises on the blockchain.
For six weeks, I participated in the first blockchain trainee class with blockchain enthusiasts, students and experts from all over the world, and learned the basics of enterprise blockchain together. The entire course was successively organized by the Fintech School of the Blockchain Center and Professor Gregory LaBlanc.
During my research, I learned that blockchain as an exciting new space technology is not far behind other technologies. Blockchain is a decentralized ledger technology that provides a record of ownership and transfers data to a single shared source of truth rather than a centralized ledger.
National and private research institutions are working together to explore blockchain architectures in space, especially satellites. The SpaceChain blockchain company proposes to develop open-source meta-satellites through crowdfunding. Blockchain company Blockchain proposes to use satellites to distribute information about the Bitcoin blockchain, thereby reducing Bitcoins dependence on the Internet. ConsensySpace has released TruSat, a blockchain-based database that monitors the changing positions of satellites.
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problem backgroundA special example of the application of blockchain technology isspace debris
. The explosion, collision or breakup of man-made objects in orbit can all lead to the appearance of space debris. Depending on size and size, debris traveling at high speeds in space can cause enormous damage. Space debris may also deorbit artificial satellites, affect infrastructure such as the International Space Station (ISS), and may cause harm to astronauts walking in space.
As of February 2020, the European Space Agency has reported 34,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters in diameter orbiting the Earth, and more than 500 disintegrations, explosions, and collisions in low-Earth orbit. The low-Earth orbit is about 2,000 kilometers from the ground (generally based on the location of NASA). There is a large collection of debris in low-Earth orbit, and the gravity is also within the range of Earths gravity.
Geosynchronous orbit is about 35,786 kilometers above the equator. The growing number of communications and weather satellites has brought attention to geosynchronous orbits, which coincide with the direction and period of the Earths rotation. The hazards caused by space debris in geosynchronous orbit cannot be estimated. Only some of the artificial satellites that have been successfully launched are still operating normally in space. To speed up the internet, more and more artificial satellites are being launched into space. Private organizations plan to launch tens of thousands of satellites, including SpaceXs Startlink network satellites, Amazons Project Kuiper satellites and OneWeb satellites.the question is how do we. In the long run, this is difficult to implement. Concentrations of objects in orbit can have devastating consequences, not least because debris in space is a risk of accumulation. Space debris is managed collaboratively and independently by most research institutions and interested parties, including but not limited to NASA, the US Department of Defense Space Debris Program, the European Space Agency, and the Institutional Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC).
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Example 1: Research by NASA and Investigators
NASA awarded the 2018 three-year Early Career Faculty Award to a University of Akron, Ohio professor. According to the press release, the award goes to NASA’s Glenn Research Center grant, which focuses on research on blockchain projects in space.
Research plans to develop Ethereum-based architectures for advanced technologies such as cognitive computing, IoT, and machine learning on autonomous spacecraft. Autonomous spacecraft are capable of monitoring, identifying and avoiding space debris, as well as autonomously performing tasks in the outer space environment. The extent of outer space extends beyond low-Earth orbit and the intersolar position.
As a government organization, NASA shares with the public the details of the development of the entire process and the current status of the mission. Interesting updates on the whole research will be available in some technical press. This is also explained in a published technical paper by Wei Kocsis and other researchers, including the NASA staff.
“Developing effective data-driven approaches remains a challenge, as large amounts of data and sufficient computing power are required to process the data. To meet the challenge, a decentralized, secure, and privacy-preserving programming paradigm is required across a multitude of decentralized Asynchronous collaborative computing processes are implemented in computing nodes that are untrusted and may limit computing power and computing intelligence. This programming paradigm is designed for the development of blockchain, decentralized learning, homomorphic encryption, and software-defined network technologies.
Wei Kocsis, currently a professor at Purdue University, shared some insights worth discussing at the 2019 Converge2Xcelerate conference. Wei Kocsis highlighted the limitations of outer space computing power and machine intelligence based on centralized cloud systems. Distance, debris or radiation interference can be devastating to a spacecraft, causing delays in data, communications and judgment.
If there is an emergency in outer space, there will not be enough time to reflect the problem immediately, and it may cause an emergency. Wei Kocsis explained.
The point about the emergency is borne out in NASA documents. The document cites the impact of space debris on the astronauts on the International Space Station, among which APPLE, NASAs School of Engineering and an important department of engineering, wrote:
“Sometimes there is not enough warning about the overall assessment and strategy implementation. For example, in 2019, the International Space Station experienced a red warning of collision hazard, which means that the risk of collision is greater than 1 in 10,000. Because there is not enough time To execute the order to avoid collision, if the International Space Station is hit by debris, the astronauts will enter the Suyuz spacecraft to avoid danger, so that the astronauts have the possibility of survival.
Wei Kocsis discussed at the meeting: Limited fuel and storage memory based on cloud and centralized computing architectures are the key challenges for maintaining space missions in outer space. Multi-party organizations, agencies and stakeholders have always had challenges in trust issues.
Spacecrafts in space are not only owned by NASA but also owned by other countries. This also means that there will be malicious competition. I mean there will be fewer organizations that can be trusted.
In this sense, the issue of trust remains one that needs to be addressed. Sophisticated decentralized blockchain ledgers can solve problems with other levels of application, such as smart contracts.
Smart contracts are electronic transactions that are programmatically executed on a blockchain network such as Ethereum. If the required conditions are met, the execution and implementation of the transaction process is guaranteed. Wei Kocsis and researcher Praveen Fernsndo extend their work on smart contracts.
In our planned network scenario, we ensure automation and security through Ethereums smart contracts.
Both researchers claim to have filed provisional patent applications on these technologies. There is a common source of data on the blockchain network, so the internal incentives established by multiple parties will run these self-executing smart contracts in advance. These computable contracts will be programmed for specific purposes. Currently, there is no single source of truth for data. Mixed data on individual satellites and space debris reflect cumbersome technical and policy issues.
As part of my research, I look at the amazing and deep details of smart contracts from a contractual legal perspective. In the ExMachina contract, Kevin Werbach and Professor Nicolas Cornell explain:
The key difference between smart contracts and other electronic agreements is the problem of execution. Once the computer feels that the necessary conditions are met, it will automatically execute data-oriented or computable contracts. From electronic development to data- and computable contracts. It reflects the trend of machine automation. When computers can quickly replace human beings in the functions of negotiating, forming, executing and implementing contracts, the contracts can run quickly with the unanimous consent of the machines. The steps before the execution of software codes are currently simplified. In some cases Smart contracts transform the problem rather than eliminate it. Even if a smart contract performs as designed, the result may not be up to par, either in the eyes of multiple parties. Or in terms of economic efficiency, which is already Is fixed. For example, non-execution may be the most desirable outcome, while the issue of efficiency is always improving.Increased automation of machines can indeed manage and solve the problem of space debris. The management of space debris may be performed automatically rather than between agencies and across networks.
However, looking at future situational applications from the perspective of contract law may lead to many complex issues. For example, how to handle errors in coding.
Werbach and Cornell write: Even if the consensus operating system of the blockchain is reliable, the operation of smart contract applications may ...
Mandatory smart contracts governing the use of automated machines programmed for different purposes also raise some questions. Over-reliance on autonomous spacecraft could also spiral out of control.
Prototype hardware develops satellites using a blockchain-based protocol. Proof-of-work is used in the NASA research work detection phase. Proof of work is related to the type of consensus algorithm protocol, and must reach the node that coordinates the transaction. Wei Korcsis pointed out that in the protocol authorization certificate on the allowed blockchain, the consensus requires the authorized person to approve the transaction to take effect, and the transaction can also be reconsidered. There are important distinctions between authorized public and private chains. Public chains are different from permissionless blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Public chains and authorized blockchains use public data verification. Only verified users can write and control data on the blockchain. The difference between public chains and authorized blockchains is that they have different levels of tools for identifying and managing authenticated users, and they can take turns reading and writing data.
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Example 2: Blockchain Army CompanyConsulting firm Blockchain Army, headquartered in Istanbul and Rotterdam, focuses on the use of blockchain technology to solve the space debris problem. On their official website, the Blockchain Army plans to adoptBlockchain-based separate management platform for shards
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the future has come
the future has come
The use of blockchain architecture for space debris is solving old problems in new ways. Industry experts have been reminding us of the need to prioritize this approach for decades. Expert research and solutions and consulting firms share the same two main principles.
The first principle has to do with self-enforcing smart contracts in order to reduce latency and friction. Transform the multi-party trust problem to be solved by an automatic architecture based on the technology stack.
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key points
key points
Coordinating data on vast amounts of space debris is an urgent matter. Some fundamental properties of blockchain technology are applicable to the use cases mentioned above. Blockchain-enabled technology stacks for airlines and institutions make network replacement feasible. The diversity of the blockchain stack consists of consensus, algorithms, protocols, rules, and encryption on the platform layer, smart contracts on the application layer, and nodes of different levels. Users (validators) may contribute to space missions, exploration, verification and removal of debris.
As blockchain technology continues to mature, public and private organizations will pay more attention to the development of blockchain in space, which will continue to lead us into the future. Wei Korcsis has given us a lot of valuable suggestions at the 2019 Conv2x conference.
