Blockstream Satellite 2.0:
what to expect?
May 04, 2020
We are pleased to announce
Blockstream Satellite 2.0 is now live, bringing a
standards-based transmission protocol, more bandwidth,
additional coverage areas, and the ability to sync a
Bitcoin full node all the way from the genesis block up
to today.
This marks a major update since the
1.0 network launch in August 2017, the expanded network
coverage update, and the Lightning-powered message API
launched December 2018.
New Transmission Protocol
Blockstream Satellite 2.0 moves to
the DVB-S2 protocol, bringing improvements in spectral
efficiency, signal reliability, and delivering higher
bitrates. A standard protocol like DVB-S2 represents a
significant upgrade over the custom protocol used in
1.0, by providing compatibility with
hardware-accelerated DVB-S2 equipment—avoiding the need
for a dedicated computer for decoding.
The DVB-S2 protocol is also more
resilient as it works under lower signal-to-noise
ratios, making it more reliable at the edges of coverage
zones, less affected by weather interference, and less
sensitive to equipment tuning.
More Bandwidth, More Efficiency
The 2.0 update increases data
capacity by more than 13x, from approximately 120 kbps
to roughly 1.6 Mbps, with a spectrum bandwidth increase
of only 4x, from 300 kHz to 1.2 MHz. With increased
bandwidth, we’ve also increased the maximum file size
for user-broadcasted API transmissions from 10 KB to 1
MB.
More Efficiency, More Compression
Two further areas of improved
efficiency from the update include:
Forward error correction (FEC): Our
fork of Bitcoin FIBRE received a number of
satellite-optimized design changes from independent
Bitcoin protocol expert Gregory Maxwell and Blockstream
signal processing specialist Igor Freire.
A new custom Bitcoin lossless
transaction compression scheme: A new scheme from
Blockstream senior engineers Arvid Norberg and Dr.
Pieter Wuille.
Taken together we are able to
reduce the volume of transmitted data by over 50% as
compared to the uncompressed Bitcoin transaction data
sent with the old forward error correction scheme.
Launch Feature: Bitcoin
Full-History Synchronization
Using the combination of more
bandwidth, better spectral efficiency, improved FEC
coding efficiency, and lossless Bitcoin transaction
compression, Blockstream Satellite 2.0 has over 25x the
data rate compared to 1.0.
Instead of requiring users to
connect their Bitcoin full node to the internet for the
initial sync—as was the case with 1.0—Blocksream
Satellite 2.0 now enables full history synchronization!
Blockstream Satellite users can hook up a Bitcoin full
node and fully download the entirety of the Bitcoin
blockchain, from the original 2009 genesis block right
up to today’s latest transactions…absolutely no internet
required!
To ensure that users can access the
entire bitcoin history and latest transactions at the
same time, we take advantage of the multiple-stream
technology provided by the DVB-S2 protocol to send two
data streams over the satellite network: the Bitcoin
full history stream and the recent transaction stream.
Ethernet Connectivity for Pros
The Pro Kit is designed to stream
Bitcoin blockchain data for consumption by multiple
devices. The equipment connects via Ethernet, sending
decoded transaction data to your network for receipt by
Bitcoin full nodes and other Bitcoin-related software on
your local network. The data is multicast as a UDP/IP
digital stream, similar to other real-time data over
internet systems such as VOIP and video conferencing
protocols.
More Coverage for Asia-Pacific
Blockstream Satellite coverage has
been expanded over the Asia-Pacific region thanks to the
addition of a new satellite to the network that includes
support for the more widely-supported Ku-band (1.0 was
previously C band only).

The 11th Annual Australasia Satellite Forum
The Fullerton (formerly Westin) Hotel, Sydney, Australia
New dates: 26 & 27 October 2020
Contact: kfrench @talksatellite.com
|