Asgardia - The Space Nation logo.
Nov. 15, 2020
November 12, 2020 (Sagittarius 9, 0004) marks three years from the day the Space Nation acquired its sovereign territory in space: three years since the launch of ‘Asgardia-1’.
Asgardia has provided an unseen precedent to the international law: it became the first-ever nation with its own territory in space. This territory is currently symbolic and is located on the cubesat 'Asgardia-1'. However, this is just the beginning. The satellite is the Space Nation's first permanent asset in space.
It carries both the Constitution and the national symbols of Asgardia. It also contains Asgardians' digital data.
Preparation for its launch was announced on June 13, 2017 (Cancer 24, 0001) at a press conference in Hong Kong. By that point of time, it had been 8 months since the foundation of Asgardia was announced. Addressing journalists, the founder of the Space Nation Igor Ashurbeyli noted:
"Asgardia now demonstrates that space is within our reach. Last year in Paris, when we first announced the creation of Asgardia, many people did not believe that we would ever mark our presence in space. Nevertheless, today I can confirm that we are launching our first satellite into space. Sixty years after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in history, our own space satellite 'Asgardia-1' will mark the beginning of a new space era, bringing our nation into space: though, virtually - at the initial stage. 'Asgardia-1' will carry data of up to one and a half million registered Asgardians for free. These are historical days, and your names and data will remain in the memory of the new space humanity forever: they will be present on board every new satellite of Asgardia".
On November 12, 2017 (Sagittarius 8, 0001 - by Asgardia's calendar) a cargo spacecraft Cygnus was launched from the Wallops launch site in the U.S., delivering 'Asgardia-1' to the International Space Station (ISS). And on December 7 of the same year (Capricornus 5, 0001) the satellite was launched from the ISS to carry out a combined space voyage: it was taken to a higher orbit (about 500 km) and switched to a free flight, sending the first signal to Earth - a greeting addressed to the founder of the Space Nation Igor Ashurbeyli.
Besides its political mission, 'Asgardia-1' has a research goal: to study the impact of space radiation on storing digital data. The study results will be used to build the Space Nation's digital infrastructure.
Asgardia-1 satellite
Scientists and technicians are watching the satellite from the mission control center located near Houston. Anyone can track its motion path live by visiting the main page of Asgardia's official website. On the map, which is publicly available on the homepage, you can see the way the satellite is moving, what part of the globe and what country it is currently passing.
Related link:
Asgardia The Space Nation: https://asgardia.space/en/
Images, Text, Credits: Asgardia The Space Nation.
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