OrbitBFT brings Byzantine fault tolerance to LEO satellite constellations
New protocol achieves linear message complexity in space, handling dynamic topology and jamming threats.
OrbitBFT is a two-stage hierarchical BFT consensus protocol tailored to LEO constellations. It exploits topological stability within orbital planes to partition the constellation and perform localized intra-plane consensus, reducing communication overhead. It also includes a Byzantine-resilient bypass mechanism and a hop-by-hop transmission protocol for reliable delivery and congestion mitigation. PBFT and HotStuff are adapted to achieve linear message complexity while preserving safety and liveness. Evaluations in a realistic Starlink-based simulation show that OrbitBFT significantly improves scalability, throughput, and latency compared to its original designs.
- Two-stage hierarchical design: intra-plane consensus reduces communication overhead by leveraging orbital plane stability
- Adapts PBFT and HotStuff to achieve linear message complexity in dynamic LEO environments
- Includes a Byzantine-resilient bypass mechanism and hop-by-hop transmission for reliable delivery under jamming or adversarial conditions
Why It Matters
Enables secure, decentralized coordination among thousands of satellites without ground stations—critical for future autonomous space networks.