Spacecoin XYZ launches first satellite in $10M space project

Spacecoin XYZ has launched its first satellite into orbit, marking a significant step in its plan to establish a decentralised physical infrastructure network in space.

The satellite was sent into space as part of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch on December 21, 2023, at 3:34 AM local time in California.

Daniel Bar, co-founder of Spacecoin XYZ, referred to the satellite as the first major milestone in bringing the “Spacecoin layer” online in Earth's orbit.

Bar noted that this satellite is just the beginning, with plans to launch between seven and ten additional satellites in 2025 to bring the Spacecoin mainnet online.

The Spacecoin satellite is equipped with two small devices known as "crypto engines," each about the size of a desktop hard drive.

It also includes another data module about the size of a MacBook.

These modules are attached to the satellite’s bus and are powered by solar panels once in orbit.

Spacecoin's goal is to create a space-based data center that offers unmatched security, with plans to use satellites as a “trusted hardware platform” that cannot be tampered with once securely deployed in space.

Dahlia Malkhi, Spacecoin's adviser and a computer science professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explained that the project aims to offer a backup layer for blockchain networks, along with creating a marketplace for celestial services.

The Spacecoin XYZ project was outlined in a Blue Paper released on November 1, 2023.

This paper details the creation of a decentralised physical infrastructure network (DePIN) through a series of nanosatellites.

Spacecoin's system will feature a two-layer structure with a "Celestial Chain" in space and an "Uncelestial" network on Earth.

According to Malkhi, “The Celestial Chain is the outermost authority” that will record an immutable history of data.