The first nation in space?
A science research center has announced it is forming an independent nation in space which anyone can join.
If you are 18 or over and have an email address, you can apply to become a ‘citizen’ of Asgardia today. At the time of this writing, more than 4,900 people have signed up, including at least one Popular Science editor. “When the number of those applications goes above 100,000 we can officially apply to the UN for the status of state,” said Ashurbeyli, adding that Asgardians would not have to give up citizenship in their countries of origin.
The group hopes to launch its first satellite in 2017 or 2018. How it will avoid being under the jurisdiction of any other country remains to me a mystery.
Eventually, when there are thriving reasonably self-sufficient colonies in space, circumstances will demand that they declare their independence from what is becoming an increasingly oppressive Earth culture. Until then, declarations like Asgardia are nothing more than publicity stunts that are not going to go anywhere.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
A science research center has announced it is forming an independent nation in space which anyone can join.
If you are 18 or over and have an email address, you can apply to become a ‘citizen’ of Asgardia today. At the time of this writing, more than 4,900 people have signed up, including at least one Popular Science editor. “When the number of those applications goes above 100,000 we can officially apply to the UN for the status of state,” said Ashurbeyli, adding that Asgardians would not have to give up citizenship in their countries of origin.
The group hopes to launch its first satellite in 2017 or 2018. How it will avoid being under the jurisdiction of any other country remains to me a mystery.
Eventually, when there are thriving reasonably self-sufficient colonies in space, circumstances will demand that they declare their independence from what is becoming an increasingly oppressive Earth culture. Until then, declarations like Asgardia are nothing more than publicity stunts that are not going to go anywhere.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
This sounds like yet another variation of a Grand Plan that pops up every few years. Mars One wasn’t too different. I’ve been hearing announcements about ocean-based versions since the 90s… that never seem to get anything built.
From 2009:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/09/floating.cities.seasteading/
Nah. I’ll rather spend my monies on saving that Nigerian astronaut that the Soviet sent to space just before Yeltsin took power, and the poor bastard is still up there with no funding to bring him home. He managed to email me his emergency message from orbit. He’s a rich man promising to repay me tenfold once back on Earth so he can do his banking.
Localfluff– hilarious!
This sorta (kinda’) reminds me of that guy who had his own country, on an unused off-shore oil-platform in the North Sea. I recall they ran a pirate radio-station in the late 60’s. (pirates, on multiple levels.)
Who, prey tell, cares what the UN thinks? (Last thing we need, is to export Statism, into Space.) Do we have the heavy-lift capacity to launch the UN headquarters into one of those LaGrange point orbits & keep them safely away from us?
-On a more serious note– we do need to abrogate all of those “Space Treaties,” we ever signed.
I’m all-in on getting, all-out.
Matt in AZ–
L. Ron Hubbard & Scientology?
http://www.scientology.org/faq/church-management/what-is-the-sea-organization.html
Wayne, you’re pretty close the mark there – I’d forgotten about their sea history. The later sea-based utopias do come across as Scientology-like wannabes.
There is a Naval quote: “The seat of power is on land”.
Until and unless space-based facilities are self-sufficient, they will be at the mercy of Earthly politics. I can envision a consortium of space companies declaring a terrestrial zone in a friendly territory.
The moon has a similar problem. It’s too close to be independent of earth politics.