Asgardia, world's first ever loaf-sized 'space nation' launched

Image courtesy: Asgardia

New Delhi: In October 2016, a team from the Aerospace International Research Centre (AIRC) announced its plans for the launch of Asgardia, the first ever space nation since 1957.

The announcement sent the space circuit buzzing and on November 12, 2017, the ‘virtual nation’ complete with its own constitution and citizens was launched.

Asgardia-1 took flight atop the Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia along with the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft destined for the International Space Station (ISS) and will remain there until it deploys to low-Earth orbit in three weeks.

With its launch, Asgardia fulfills the necessary condition for admission to the UN.

The satellite comprises of a nation itself, creating its own legal framework, flag and other symbols on nationhood. Its self-designed constitution has already been accepted.

The project is led by Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, one of the Russian Federation’s scientists and founder of the AIRC, Vienna.

According to CNN, Asgardia is named after a Norse mythological city of the skies and is free to join. So far, about 114,000 people have signed up.

Ashurbeyli says the project's mission is to provide a "peaceful society", offer easier access to space technologies, and protect Earth from space threats, such as asteroids and man-made debris in space.

While Asgardia's citizens will – for the time being – remain based on earth, the satellite launch brings the nation one step closer to space.