Compute and Settlement: Making Autonomy Operational In Space

CALVIN ENGLAND OF DYSON LABS EXPLAINS WHY THE FUTURE OF SPACE AUTONOMY DEPENDS ON A NEW ECONOMIC COORDINATION LAYER

As satellites become more capable and artificial intelligence increasingly manages operations in orbit, autonomy is rapidly becoming a defining feature of the modern space economy. But according to Calvin England, CEO and founder of Dyson Laboratories, the systems that govern accountability in space have not kept pace with the technologies themselves.

Speaking at spaceNEXT 2026, England argued that while autonomous systems already operate across nearly every layer of the space ecosystem, a critical piece of infrastructure remains missing: a reliable way to verify and settle the work those systems perform.

“We have compute in space. We have real work happening in space,” England said. “But accountability is broken at the settlement layer.”

Fixing that gap, he argued, will be essential if the space industry hopes to safely scale toward the massive constellations and autonomous operations envisioned in the coming decade.

Autonomy is already everywhere in space

Autonomous systems are no longer a future concept in the space sector—they are already deeply embedded in everyday operations.

Satellites automatically schedule and capture imagery of the Earth. Ground systems route communications traffic without human intervention. Collision avoidance maneuvers are triggered by automated systems that detect potential conjunctions between spacecraft. Refueling operations and orbital servicing missions are increasingly designed to operate with minimal human control.

Even emerging concepts such as orbital data centers are expected to rely heavily on autonomous workloads that dynamically allocate computing resources in orbit.

But despite these advances, England argued that the way space operations are verified and enforced remains fundamentally outdated.

Today, most systems operate on a “command and log” model. An instruction is issued, the system performs an action, and logs generated by the system itself are later used to reconstruct what happened.

“The logs are generated by the same actors performing the work,” England explained. “They’re not a neutral ground for accountability.”

In other words, when disputes arise—or when failures occur—humans must piece together events after the fact, relying on records that may not always provide an objective view.

The growing risk of orbital congestion

The stakes for solving this problem are rising rapidly as the number of satellites in orbit continues to increase.

England pointed to a near-miss event that occurred in late 2025 when a Starlink satellite passed within roughly 200 meters of a Chinese spacecraft, a proximity that would be considered dangerously close in aviation.

Such encounters are becoming more common. SpaceX alone reported over 144,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in the first half of 2025, highlighting the growing complexity of managing space traffic.

According to simulations cited by England, if maneuver capability were lost entirely, a cascade of collisions—often referred to as Kessler Syndrome—could begin in as little as a few days.

The industry therefore faces a difficult challenge: autonomous systems are increasingly necessary to manage space traffic, but the mechanisms used to verify and enforce those operations remain largely manual.

The limits of “best effort” space operations

Much of the space industry still operates on a model known as best-effort service. Under this framework, companies agree to attempt to deliver a service—such as capturing satellite imagery—but do not guarantee specific outcomes.

When results fall short of expectations, disputes are resolved through traditional mechanisms such as litigation, insurance claims, or contractual settlements.

All of these processes are human-mediated, which limits the speed and scalability of space operations.

England described this inefficiency as the “invisible tax of uncertainty.”

He cited the example of Earth observation company BlackSky, which has highlighted how uncertainty creates multiple layers of hidden cost. Operators may deploy multiple satellites to complete a single task in case one fails. Timelines are padded to ensure delivery. Analysts spend time reconstructing events instead of analyzing the data itself.

“These are resources that could be used more efficiently,” England said.

Linking work in space to automatic settlement

Dyson Labs’ approach focuses on tightly linking work performed in space with automated financial settlement.

In England’s framework, “work” can include many different types of space operations: orbital maneuvers, data routing, refueling activities, satellite imaging, fault responses, or computing tasks performed in orbit.

Each of these actions consumes resources—propellant, power, time, and risk.

But rather than relying on system logs or contractual promises to verify that work occurred, Dyson Labs proposes a different approach: cryptographic proof of execution.

This model uses cryptographic methods to create verifiable receipts for actions performed in space. These receipts can be automatically validated by machines and used to trigger payments, insurance settlements, or service confirmations.

The concept borrows ideas from decentralized computing systems such as Bitcoin, which rely on cryptographic proofs to verify work without human intermediaries.

In the Dyson Labs model, the same principle could apply to space operations.

“When work is performed, there’s a proof,” England explained. “That proof triggers settlement.”

Building a coordination layer for the space economy

To support this vision, Dyson Labs is developing a protocol called SCRAP—Secure Capabilities Routing Authorization and Payments.

The system functions as a coordination layer that allows space operators to create cryptographic service-level agreements tied directly to operational activity.

Through an open software development kit, companies could integrate these capabilities into their systems, allowing spacecraft and ground networks to automatically verify actions and settle transactions.

The protocol could be applied across a wide range of use cases, including satellite computing, mission assurance, debris mitigation, and orbital servicing.

For example, a satellite operator could generate cryptographic proof that a de-orbit maneuver was successfully executed, satisfying regulatory requirements. A commercial imaging company could verify that an image was captured at a specific time and automatically trigger payment. Insurance providers could receive verifiable data confirming whether a spacecraft performed a maneuver as expected.

In each case, the goal is to reduce reliance on manual verification and enable systems to coordinate autonomously.

Preparing for massive scale in orbit

England believes the need for such systems will grow dramatically as the number of satellites in orbit increases.

Today, there are roughly tens of thousands of satellites in orbit. But future proposals envision far larger constellations. Companies have already filed plans that could eventually push that number toward millions of satellites.

At that scale, manual oversight of every operational decision becomes impossible.

“Humans are exiting the loop,” England said. “We’re hearing more and more about AI agents controlling satellites.”

If that future becomes reality, autonomous systems will require infrastructure that allows them to interact economically as well as operationally.

That means establishing a framework where machines can verify actions, enforce agreements, and settle transactions automatically.

Making autonomy truly operational

England emphasized that Dyson Labs is not trying to make space autonomous—because autonomy already exists.

Instead, the company’s goal is to create the infrastructure needed to make that autonomy reliable and scalable.

“Space is already autonomous,” he said. “What we’re doing is making that autonomy operational.”

Dyson Labs is currently preparing an in-orbit pilot program designed to demonstrate the protocol in a limited environment. The company hopes the pilot will validate the concept and open the door to broader adoption across the space industry.

If successful, the approach could help establish a new economic coordination layer for space—one designed to support a future where thousands, or even millions, of autonomous systems operate together in orbit.