DSS and DSI to develop bitcoin nanosatellites

Dunvegan Space Systems (DSS), has entered into a contract with Deep Space Industries (DSI) to develop 24 nanosatellites for its proposed BitSat program, which would act as space-bound bitcoin nodes and is the first of a planned array of nanosatellites.

Jeff Garzik, the person behind the DSS startup, told CoinDesk that the project's launch phase will commence sometime after the first quarter of 2016, and that it aims to create resources to help propagate the blockchain technology in a self-sufficient manner.

"When the satellite is capable of fully processing the blockchain, it does not need to trust a ground station to send it authentic data. The satellite itself is capable of making that evaluation, that decision on its own", he added.

The initial deployment stage will include placing four satellites into orbit, with the rest being deployed gradually. After the successful deployment of all 24 satellites, he said, the system will be able to provide "continuous global coverage".