Orbital confidential computing and space internet infrastructure 🛰️
Developer support: https://t.co/OuYPKv4dikspacecomputer.io https in orbitJoined May 2024
The space economy is in launch mode 👽🚀
With the SpaceX IPO monumental event, the capital flowing into space has never been higher! The global market will reach $700 billion in 2026.
The industry is seeing an influx of everything from launch providers, ground station buildouts, analytics and AI enablement across Earth and literally to moon and beyond!
Space is highly interconnected, and we’ll only see deeper layers of the space sector unfold in the coming year already.
I’ve compiled and made a market map of the space companies and players you should be aware of.
The future is in space.
This is the first part of a 3-part series
Stay tuned, next up is LEO to GEO 🛰️
You can prove your satellite is in orbit.
Why it matters:
- earth observation 🌍
- sensing 🔎
- key management 🔑
- AI inference 🤖
All of it depends on trusting where your compute runs.
It’s a multi-billion dollar market, and we’re bringing it into the post-quantum age
It takes less than 11 hours to prove a satellite is genuinely in orbit.
You do it once, with multiple ground stations on Earth, and it holds for the satellite's entire life. 🧵
The full protocol and threat model are in the Space Fabric paper.
Start with Section 5.3 for the protocol, and Section 6.3 for the security proofs behind the quorum threshold.
spacecomputer.io/spacefabric
In low Earth orbit, collecting endorsements takes 4–7 passes (roughly 6–11 hours).
It runs once, certifying the satellite for its entire multi-year life. After that, the satellite just presents its certificate. Re-verification takes milliseconds, with no need to re-run the protocol.
It takes less than 11 hours to prove a satellite is genuinely in orbit.
You do it once, with multiple ground stations on Earth, and it holds for the satellite's entire life. 🧵
Our satellites will have an unspoofable “caller ID.”
All it takes is a protocol that runs once, and can be verified for the course of its lifetime.
We use a network of ground stations to run a challenge–response handshake as the satellite does its first passes in orbit.
When enough stations independently verify it and reach consensus, the satellite is certified.
Then ground stations know what satellite they're talking to overhead.
AI is driving the demand for compute in space, but beyond AI, the space compute stack and space internet stack is in it's infancy and with every day that passes we're seeing more and ore application unlocked.
It really is just the beginning !
“[…] No SpaceComputer signing key has ever existed on Earth at any point […]”
Keys are generated in space, and burn on the way down.
Yet another great article by @tarasjeans
Most of the security the tech you use every day relies on one thing remaining a secret: a signing key.
Often referred to as a private key, secret key, or signing key, they are what a computer system uses verify it is who it says it is. A few examples you might be familiar with:
Most of the security the tech you use every day relies on one thing remaining a secret: a signing key.
Often referred to as a private key, secret key, or signing key, they are what a computer system uses verify it is who it says it is. A few examples you might be familiar with:
🔑 Browser security (TLS/HTTPS)
🔑 Signed software updates
🔑 Digital signatures
These work because one key stayed secret and only the real system or system's owner could use it.
So here is a fair question to ask about any platform you're working with: where was that signing key created, and who had access to it before it reached you?
We wrote up what a signing key is, and why generating them in space changes trust systems.
blog.spacecomputer.io/what-is-a-sign…
By end of the decade everyone will need to be prepared for migration to post quantum cryptography standards
The economy is ever more dependent on secure digital systems and more parts of the stack are migrating to space
The elegance encapsulated in Space Fabric’s hardware design choices is truly a work of art.
If you want to absorb in 5 min a year worth of r&d work by the epic SpaceComputer | Orbital Root of Trust team take a read!
The chips on our satellites will generate their own security keys in orbit. No SpaceComputer key will ever exist on Earth.
That feature is enabled by the hardware decisions built into our verifiable satellite architecture.
We broke it down here:
blog.spacecomputer.io/satellite-hard…
If locksmith copies your house key.
And they promise they destroyed the duplicate.
And you have no way to verify.
Do you trust them?
That's a vulnerability so many secure compute modules like TEEs face. Now imagine that level of trust in a satellite you can never double check after launch...especially if you don't have verification set up.
If satellite signing keys are generated on Earth by the manufacturer, sometimes years before launch, there's a gap in time for a pre-launch attack.
So when designing our security mechanisms, we engineered around this vulnerability.
Every SpaceComputer signing key will be generated after launch, on the satellite's first boot in orbit. No human or manufacturer on Earth ever holds the keys.
For customers evaluating orbital compute platforms, which is preferred: trusting a vendor's claim and contract, or verification from the hardware itself?
. @SpaceComputerIO threat model here.
You would have to:
- capture several of these
- transport them to a secret pressurized location in space
- compromise two chip manufacturers
- open it, use million-dollar tooling that prob doesn’t work in microgravity
Challenge accepted?
👀 Kall Morris Inc.’s REACCH system capturing a target object during testing on the ISS.
Instead of a single small satellite test, the team completed 172 test runs, validating the system for debris removal and in-orbit relocation: ow.ly/gyO050Z5kji#SpaceDebris#ISS
SpaceComputer handles signing key genesis differently.
A 'key' layer of security we offer: all signing keys are generated after reaching Low Earth Orbit. They were never on Earth, and never left in the contractual trust of the manufacturer.
And all compute tasks are secured without a single point of failure, through two key pairs, one for each co-processor onboard the satellite.
In orbit, we believe security is a priority, and never a compromise. 🛰️
@rezabfil outlines the post-launch process👇
Good post from @tarasjeans on SpaceComputer’s hardware.
As we iterate, we start with mostly off-the-shelf solutions neatly packed into a ~0.5U radiation shielded payload. Here’s a picture of test devices before the integration.
In Q4 we will see these on a “clever” mission with one of our partners.
More info soon ™️
The chips on our satellites will generate their own security keys in orbit. No SpaceComputer key will ever exist on Earth.
That feature is enabled by the hardware decisions built into our verifiable satellite architecture.
We broke it down here:
blog.spacecomputer.io/satellite-hard…
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