On launch mode: Technopark firm develops blockchain sat

Thiruvananthapuram: Though blockchain technology, with its decentralized approach, offers a solution to security issues, a lot of firms have concerns in using the technology due to restrictions in storing information in systems that are connected to the internet. To bring a solution to such users, a Technopark firm is set to enter a new territory — the space.
Technopark firm Accubits Technologies is gearing up to launch ‘ChainSat’, the world’s first enterprise blockchain satellite. ChainSat is a low earth-orbit satellite, weighing 12kg, and it can establish an enterprise blockchain ledger that can enable a secure transactional network for financial and government firms, which have privacy as a key concern.
Four-year-old Accubits Technologies has planned the ChainSat as a network of eight satellites. In the first phase, the team is planning to launch its first satellite by January 2021. “During the first phase, we expect a communication delay of 16-19 minutes. With the commissioning of the second phase consisting of the remaining satellites, we will get real-time data. The second phase is expected to be ready by the end of 2022,” said Jithin V G, co-founder and CEO of Accubits. With the support of Space Park, a state government initiative, the firm is in touch with various space agencies such as SpaceX, Antrix and French space agency CNES for the launch.
Explaining on the need for a satellite, Jithin said that the existing communication channel —the internet— could not assure the security demands of various firms.
“After that initial blockchain boom from 2015-18, we saw that the wave was receding. Most of the financial institutions and government firms have certain compliance policies which restrict them from storing information on public-facing servers or systems that are connected to the internet. ChainSat aims to fix this problem by facilitating an off-grid network for blockchain transactions. With this, users in the enterprise blockchain network can access the decentralized ledger through direct satellite communication,” he said.
Accubits’s client list includes JPMorgan Chase, Vista Bank NASA, United States Geological Survey, United States Postal Services, among others. It has provided land registry on blockchain for Dubai land department.