A Bitcoin Lightning cost request has been relayed via a geostationary satellite tv for pc after which paid, in what seems to be the primary public demonstration of a Lightning bill transmitted “via precise area.”
Bitcoin Lightning Blasts Into Area
The experiment, carried out by the X consumer “Printer” (@Printer_Gobrrr), uplinked a Lightning bill as a picture to the QO-100 (Es’hail-2) novice radio transponder and downlinked it again to Earth, the place it was decoded and settled over the Lightning Community. “Achievement unlocked: Acquired and paid the primary lighting [sic] bill which was despatched via precise area,” the consumer wrote on Sept. 9, 2025.
Achievement unlocked: Acquired and paid the primary lighting bill which was despatched via precise area. pic.twitter.com/9zq5SYnAWK
— Printer ⚡ (@Printer_Gobrrr) September 9, 2025
In contrast to earlier satellite-based Bitcoin milestones that centered on on-chain transactions or blockchain distribution, the novelty right here is Lightning-specific: the cost request itself—encoded as a BOLT11 bill and rendered as a QR picture—was delivered through satellite tv for pc relatively than the terrestrial web.
In keeping with technical descriptions, the method started with a pockets producing a Lightning bill. That bill was transformed to a picture and injected into an AMSAT-DL Multimedia HS Modem, which digitally modulated and uplinked the file to QO-100’s wideband novice transponder.
The satellite tv for pc rebroadcast the information again to Earth; the downlink was decoded, the QR scanned, and the Lightning cost executed usually. In different phrases, the settlement path remained Lightning’s commonplace community, however the “last-mile” supply of the bill was absolutely off-grid.
QO-100 (Es’hail-2) is a geostationary satellite tv for pc positioned over 25.5°E with novice S-band uplink and 10 GHz downlink transponders that cowl a footprint spanning Europe, Africa, the Center East and components of Asia—making it a favourite platform for novice radio digital experiments. The usage of its wideband digital transponder for file/picture transmission is according to AMSAT-DL’s steerage for experimental digital modulation on QO-100.
The demonstration underscores a broader theme that’s been creating for years: satellite tv for pc infrastructure can harden Bitcoin’s communications layer in opposition to last-mile failures, censorship, and catastrophe situations.
Blockstream’s Satellite tv for pc community, for instance, repeatedly broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain around the globe, permitting nodes to remain in sync with out a terrestrial connection; builders may also pay Lightning invoices to broadcast arbitrary messages over that community through the Satellite tv for pc API. At present’s Lightning-over-satellite bill provides a complementary functionality: off-grid dissemination of cost requests, not simply blocks or messages.
It additionally invitations cautious parsing. Whereas headlines describe a “Lightning cost despatched through satellite tv for pc,” the structure proven signifies that what traveled via area was the bill, not the channel-routed cost itself. As soon as decoded, a pockets nonetheless wanted regular Lightning connectivity—direct or through a routing node—to settle the bill earlier than it expired. That distinction issues for reliability claims and for evaluating what components of the funds stack can function throughout web outages.
Bitcoin’s Historical past In Outer Area
Traditionally, Bitcoin’s “area” experiments have ranged from block broadcasts to in-orbit signing. In August 2020, SpaceChain executed a multi-signature Bitcoin transaction utilizing {hardware} aboard the Worldwide Area Station, illustrating that private-key operations might be anchored off-planet.
Blockstream’s satellite tv for pc service, in the meantime, has matured right into a 24/7 international broadcast of the Bitcoin blockchain with developer tooling. The Lightning bill relay via QO-100 slots into that lineage as the primary extensively publicized Lightning-specific satellite tv for pc hop.
There are sensible constraints. QO-100’s footprint doesn’t cowl the Americas, and lawful use of novice transponders requires adherence to band plans and licensing in every jurisdiction. The {hardware} profile—parabolic dish, RF front-end, and specialised modem—places this squarely within the “fanatic” tier for now.
Lightning-specific issues persist as nicely: invoices are time-limited; channel liquidity and route availability nonetheless govern cost success; and any really “air-gapped” settlement would require extra relays or satellite-capable Lightning networking past right this moment’s proof-of-concept.
Nonetheless, the sign is obvious: Bitcoin’s communications resiliency retains increasing. With satellites broadcasting blocks, APIs that settle for Lightning for satellite tv for pc message uplinks, and now a public demo of a Lightning bill delivered via area and efficiently paid, the system is incrementally decoupling itself from single factors of terrestrial failure. Whether or not for catastrophe restoration, censorship resistance, or just engineering curiosity, the frontier of off-grid Bitcoin simply pushed a bit of farther into orbit.
At press time, BTC traded at $114,266.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Editorial Course of for bitcoinist is centered on delivering totally researched, correct, and unbiased content material. We uphold strict sourcing requirements, and every web page undergoes diligent evaluation by our group of high know-how specialists and seasoned editors. This course of ensures the integrity, relevance, and worth of our content material for our readers.
