While it plans to someday host a moon colony and space station, the proposed space-based nation Asgardia is starting small: The project will launch its first satellite this fall to store data for the nation's newly selected citizens. Some 200,000 were chosen from the more than 500,000 applicants.

During a press conference in Hong Kong on June 13, Asgardia's founder, Igor Ashurbeyli, revealed concrete details about the satellite: Asgardia-1 will be deployed from Orbital ATK's Cygnus OA-8 resupply spacecraft launching in September. The satellite is 10 x 20 x 20 centimeters (3.9 x 7.9 x 7.9 inches) and has eight batteries and four deployable solar arrays. It will orbit at up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) above Earth. Texas-based space-services firm NanoRacks acts as the satellite's prime contractor and operator.

Someday, Ashurbeyli said, he hopes to create a planetary-defense constellation that will help protect against asteroids, solar flares and human-made space debris; this satellite is just the first step.

During the conference, Ashurbeyli also described plans for a space station and moon colony. "We plan to have this station in space and on the moon," he said. "It will be a four-level orbital station. I think the technical details will be defined by the Ministry of Science, which I hope we will have in the autumn of this year."

Ashurbeyli didn't provide additional details, but Asgardia has released imagery of the potential off-Earth locations. One image shows a rotating-wheel space station alongside an interplanetary rocket, and another shows, presumably, the interior of that space station with a wall of windows, a canal and greenery. The rocket has a habitation module and a lunar lander that looks like a cross between the NASA Orion spacecraft and the 1960s Apollo program lunar lander.

The approved applicants for Asgardian citizenship will be invited to vote on a constitution for the space-based nation on June 18. At that time, Ashurbeyli said, the organs of the proposed state — the ministries, parliament and executive branch — should be created. Ashurbeyli is calling June 18 Asgardian National Unity Day, and the date will be a public holiday if the state is realized.

More than 500,000 people applied for Asgardian citizenship online within 20 days when the project was announced in October last year. The organizers removed ineligible people, such as children, and were left with almost 200,000 people from about 200 countries. (Now, the website lists more than 210,000.) The approved applicants have each received personal certificates of Asgardia and can vote to approve the lawyer-designed constitution on June 18. The constitution was published on June 13.

Of the citizenship applicants, 80 percent are men, and the largest demographic comprises 18- to 35-year-olds. While there are applicants from almost every country on Earth, China has the most applicants, followed by Turkey, then the United States and then Italy. People can register as prospective Asgardians on the website.

Asgardia is being funded by Ashurbeyli's nonprofit Aerospace International Research Center (AIRC), based in Vienna. He said he expects that once Asgardia's constitution is approved, the state will be built by its citizen volunteers and Asgardia will become self-funding. Ashurbeyli said he expects to file for United Nations recognition by April 2018, if Asgardia's parliament and government have been set up and the satellite launched before then, he said during the conference.

In the meantime, AIRC owns Asgardian intellectual property. The company will collect, analyze and fund ideas and startups in space technology for the benefit of Asgardia. Ashurbeyli is also offering 300KB of free data storage on board Asgardia-1 for Asgardian citizens. Family members, up to a maximum of 400,000 people, will get 200KB. Another 1 million people will get 100KB.

"Sixty years after the launch of the first-ever artificial satellite, Sputnik, our own space satellite, Asgardia-1, will mark the beginning of a new space era, taking our citizens into space in virtual form, at first," Ashurbeyli said.

Ram Jakhu, the director of McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law in Montreal, is the Asgardia project team legal expert. During the conference, he told the press that the Asgardian data stored on Asgardia-1 would be subject to U.S. privacy laws. The Asgardians' data will also be stored on future Asgardian satellites.

Anthropocene

DENNIS ANASTASSIOU · SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2016 84 Reads

“Anthropoceneˈanθrəpəˌsiːn/adjective

1. relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
   • the Anthropocene period.” source:google search, photo: http://www.igbp.net/
     
     ...Sadly (an ironically) almost all evils: mass extinction, climate change, wars, social incoherence threatening us humans are caused by ... us humans... it’s just like accepting “Anthropocene” as a synonym for  malevolence, negativity and nastiness...  it’s a vicious circle we have to escape from or vanish as a species...
     
     
   • TEOEAWKI - TEOTWAWKI
     DENNIS ANASTASSIOU · FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
     The End Of Europe As We Know It – The End Of The World As We Know It      Volatility.  Prepare for that (if you can) for the immediate future. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle* found it's way to the political – economic arena. We can predict “things” but “all things” at the same time.  The world fabric is intertwined to such an extent it is impossible to loosen it without risking tearing it into pieces.  There is a tremendous lack of leadership in the world so vastly major decisions are vested upon the “people” as an excuse.  This is what has just happened.  Reason succumbed  to emotion.  I doubt one can find even a handful of people that voted in the referendum  (among the “people” that is) that really understand the pros and cons of any one direction - in or out to the necessary depth  to reach a decision with confidence . Democracy is what we have accepted as the best so far – or at least for our time – political frame for us to function as a society.  Is has a major flaw: Voters don't get the bill.  Anonymity has a price. We all pay.         We have mixed priorities in our time.  We have the luxury to think, say and do anything that comes to mind regardless of the consequences as long as it gets some likes on-line.  The (false) power of the many. Our 15 minutes of fame. But there is a price … and we all have to chip in when the bill arrives...
     ...there is enough tinder around the world for social, economic & political wildfires. Let's hope they do not turn into firestorms.   Life has a way, we will – in time recover – but for the short run things occasionally spin out of control. Brace.
     
     These are some of the articles I have posted in the past.
     
     It is my firm belief, as a thinking human being, this is a critical point for our species.
     The pace of change in all human activities has accelerated tremendously in recent years.  Scientific progress in genetic engineering, physics, meta-material, technology in general has almost reached Sci-Fi levels.  Nothing wrong to it per ce however, the combined outcome of of all this (intentional or otherwise) cannot be predicted.  Will mankind be better off? or risk extinction?
     
     As in nature, all forces follow the "path of least resistance". In our case, if it takes an effort (building instead of demolishing, accepting rules instead of preaching "fake freedom", being a better person instead of exploiting everything and everybody) people are prone to follow an almost natural tendency to avert "work".
     
     It is only through education, culture and burning desire that mankind has overcome mankind's darkest hours in the past.  I am certain it will still be the only way to continue doing so in the future.
     
     
     In the elections underway, I am asking for your vote!
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I'm not a kind of man who seeks leadership just for leadership. I always want to make things right and being a highlevel technician while being highly socialized I do have understanding how to do it.
I already have Ideas about how the future society should function and as you already guessed the technology is the key for it. More than that I even have a roadmap about how to achieve functioning and highly efficient society.

For sure the technology is not the only key to our future - we also need to be people with high morality and strong moral compass - we need to be kind and helpful to each other, we need to respect each other and we need to listen to each other...

Basically, what I'm saying is - with your help and your kindness I have capabilities to make Asgardia great!