Bitcoin Lightning Payment Zaps Across Satellite In Historic First

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In a truly out-of-this-world event (and no, we’re not talking about the price of Bitcoin), a Bitcoin Lightning payment request has been zapped through the great void of space. A Bitcoin Lightning payment sent across the satellite stratosphere has made its grand debut, and, let’s face it, it’s the kind of thing that could make your grandma’s WiFi connection feel outdated.

Bitcoin Lightning Blasts Into Space

In a feat of digital wizardry, the user “Printer” (@Printer_Gobrrr) launched a Lightning invoice as an image to the QO-100 (Es’hail-2) amateur radio transponder. What followed can only be described as “one small step for Bitcoin, one giant leap for tech nerds everywhere.” The image was sent, zapped across the cosmos, and then paid-YES, paid. This historic moment unfolded on September 9, 2025, marking what may very well be the first public demonstration of a Lightning invoice traveling through actual space. Achievement unlocked, my friend: we are now paying invoices through space.

Achievement unlocked: Received and paid the first lighting invoice which was sent through actual space.

– Printer (@Printer_Gobrrr) September 9, 2025

So what’s the big deal? Well, while past Bitcoin satellite experiments were mostly focused on on-chain transactions and blockchain distribution (yawn, am I right?), this time around, the Lightning payment itself-encoded as a BOLT11 invoice and rendered as a QR code image-was sent via satellite instead of your standard, bog-standard terrestrial internet.

Here’s how it went down: the wallet generates a Lightning invoice (nothing new here), but instead of sending it through the regular internet channels, the invoice was turned into a snazzy image and sent to an AMSAT-DL Multimedia HS Modem, which then blasted it into space. The satellite then rebroadcasted the data back to Earth, where it was decoded, scanned via QR code, and the payment was executed as per usual. So, while the payment path was still the Lightning Network, the last-mile delivery took a much more adventurous route-straight through the void of space. 📡

Now, you might be asking: does this mean we’re sending Bitcoin across the galaxy? Well, not quite. QO-100 (Es’hail-2) is a geostationary satellite that floats over the 25.5°E longitude with its amateur S-band uplink and 10 GHz downlink transponders. It covers Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, and it’s a favorite playground for digital experimenters like this one. So yes, this is cool, but it’s not like we can send Bitcoin to Mars just yet.

Nonetheless, this experiment is part of a much larger narrative: Bitcoin’s communications layer is becoming more resilient, harder to censor, and more resistant to those pesky internet outages. Blockstream’s Satellite network already broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain worldwide, and now with this Lightning invoice being sent via satellite, we’re just one step closer to Bitcoin being completely off-grid. Who knew Bitcoin’s ultimate goal was to get to space?

The beauty of this is that it opens up even more possibilities. Developers can now use the Satellite API to pay Lightning invoices and broadcast messages. And yes, now we can say we’ve sent a Bitcoin payment via space. 🎉

Bitcoin’s History In Outer Space

If you think this is the first time Bitcoin has ventured into the cosmos, think again. Back in August 2020, SpaceChain performed a multi-signature Bitcoin transaction using hardware aboard the International Space Station. So Bitcoin’s love affair with space is not new. Blockstream, meanwhile, has already set up a global broadcast of the Bitcoin blockchain via satellite, and this Lightning invoice relay is simply the latest in a long line of space-bound Bitcoin milestones.

Of course, there are some limitations. QO-100 doesn’t cover the Americas (sorry, America), and using amateur transponders requires adhering to licensing and band plans. Also, sending Bitcoin via satellite isn’t something you can do with a microwave and a random satellite dish from eBay-this requires specialized hardware, making it very much an enthusiast-level project for now.

Additionally, Lightning invoices are time-sensitive, so you can’t just send a payment request to space and expect it to stay valid forever. Still, the fact that we’re able to send payment requests through space (not the actual payment, mind you) is a huge step forward in making Bitcoin more decentralized and resilient. And hey, in case of a global disaster or censorship-Bitcoin might be our ticket to survival.

At press time, BTC is trading at $114,266, which, let’s face it, is probably still lower than your grandma’s crypto portfolio.

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2025-09-11 14:32