Piqued my interest, as a sci-fi nerd and Monero enthusiast. How much would it realistically cost to get a Monero node in space? Blockstream already run a Bitcoin Node in Space. So I started to throw some costs together to see if it's viable as a fundraiser. Note that this is partly a thought experiment, but it's totally possible! The latency in Orbit is like 1ms so no problem. Try and censor this, nation states!

Launch:

Up to 50kg payload to SSO orbit with SpaceX : $300,000 (looking to 2026 launch dates)

https://www.spacex.com/rideshare/

Orbit Plus pre-configured communication with groundstation with alba : 250,000 Euro https://www.albaorbital.com/launch

NanoRacks 1U (10cmx10cmx10cm) Cubesat Piggyback on ISS launch : $90,000 https://www.satcatalog.com/insights/cubesat-launch-costs/

Monero node:

Fully stacked nodo : $500

https://moneronodo.com/

Cubesat:

Stacked Cubesat with Solar Array, All controllers, 10Mbps laser communications, 512GB Radiation proof storage, high-power radio, up to 3 cameras etc. (1U is smaller and cheaper to send, like $100k rather than 300K if a node fits inside)

$44,000

https://www.cubesat.market/kratos1uplatform

Estimated total cost: $200,000

We could crowdfund that right?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Space nodes are at best useful as a marketing stunt. It's really the worst place to put a computer. A node in a bunker is much safer and is actually maintainable after its initial deployment, if you need coverage anywhere on earth, Elon has already spent billions for you to utilize starlink :)

I'd propose to instead do a fundraiser to buy our own version of the cyberbunker where we can set up a real beefy node, host events, set up a hacker space, etc ;)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

More info: Blockstream's Bitcoin Satellite node

https://blockstream.com/satellite/