A Russian businessman is readying to launch a data centre into space in August this year, in what is certainly one of the most ambitious projects the data centre industry has seen in recent times. The project is part of a much larger idea which started in 2016 with the announcement of the development of a pacifist nation-state in space. “Asgardia will become a place in orbit which is truly ‘no man’s land’,” those involved in the project said during its launch as they hope to gain recognition from the UN in the years to come. Those interested in entering Asgardia will go through an admission process, and could potentially gain citizenship to the “nation-state”.

Should Ashurbeyli ever pull it off, Asgardia would be a platform in Earth’s orbit in which people could live and work, as well as a place to help establish the defense of Earth from meteorites, space debris, and perhaps even human weapons being operated by hostile human forces themselves. Since announcing Asgardia last October, however, Ashurbeyli has barely provided any glimpse into what the heck this is actually supposed to look like. So it was a pleasant surprise to see Ashurbeyli announce Tuesday that Asgardia was opening up citizenship enrollment starting immediately, and making plans for its first satellite launch later this year. That launch will fire up a small hard drive into orbit, which will contain the first 100,000 citizens’ personal data.

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.

Der 53-jährige "Staatsgründer" Igor Ashurbeyli hat im Oktober 2016 seinen Plan einer Weltraumnation verkündet und seitdem haben sich tausende Menschen dem Projekt angeschlossen: Insgesamt 229746 Erdenbürger (Stand 20.6. 2017, 14:00) gehören heute der "Weltraumnation Asgardia" an. Der Großteil der Asgardier kommt aus China, der Türkei und den USA. Österreich liegt bei der Zahl der Anmeldungen mit 668 Personen auf Platz 43 von 220 registrierten Nationen. Praktisch jeder kann Bürger der Weltraumnation werden. Die Bewerbung erfolgt einfach über ein Online-Formular. Einzige Grundvoraussetzung ist das Alter: über 18 Jahre.

Bisher sieht die Population von Asgardia aber noch etwas einseitig aus: Rund 80 Prozent der Weltraum-Bürger sind nämlich männlich und nur rund 20 Prozent weiblich. Die Mehrheit ist zwischen 18 und 35 Jahre alt.

An Efficient Mayor for a Stronger Community

As a candidate for this Mayoralty.

I vow to figure out what my vision, goal, and purpose are. I pledge to continue learning and improving the Mayoralty. I vow to lead with integrity and conviction. I commit to be real and vulnerable in my leadership. I pledge to lead in a humble manner. I pledge to take responsibility and hold myself accountable. I pledge to make the development of others as vital as my own. I hereby seek the vote of every Asgardian who who has passion for the efficient Leadership.

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

Asgardia, a non-profit organization aiming to create the world's "first space nation" announced plans in Hong Kong yesterday to launch its first physical presence into space: a tiny satellite the size of a loaf of bread that can be used by "citizens" of the currently digital nation to store private data. Asgardia, named after a mythological Norse city in the sky, said it would launch the nano satellite (nanosat) as cargo aboard Orbital ATK's September 12 supply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), contracted by NASA. Once the spacecraft docks at the space station, the crew will pop the nanosat, named Asgardia-1, into a special nanosat dispenser and eject it into orbit. The launch cost of around US$700,000 is being largely funded by Asgardia's founder and "Head of Nation", Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli, a wealthy Azerbaijani-born Russian scientist and businessman.

Founders of the first off-world “space nation”, Asgardia, have been overwhelmed by the number of people who want to sign up as citizens.

After the creation of Asgardia was announced in Paris last October, more than 500,000 applications were received within the first 20 days, the team behind the project has revealed.

The group, the brainchild of billionaire Russian computer scientist Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, now has almost 200,000 verified citizens from around 200 countries, who have each received a Certificate of Asgardia.

The article has been republished by the New York Post , The Irish News , Irish Examiner and The Yorkshire Post .

The proposed space-based nation Asgardia will launch its first satellite this fall to store data for the nation's newly selected citizens.

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

Named after a Norse mythological city of the skies, Asgardia is open to all residents on planet earth and it doesn't cost anything to join. Russian scientist Dr Igor Ashurbeyli announced his plans to form the world's first independent nation that operates in outer space in October 2016. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have signed up to be citizens. 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.

The new Constitution of Asgardia, released earlier this month in English , has been translated into six more languages. It is now available in Turkish , Spanish , Italian , German , French and Russian .

As a reminder, accepting the Constitution means you, as a citizen, can now vote on national symbols, upload your files to the Asgardia-1 satellite and participate in the leadership elections.