PARIS, 12 October 2016
‘Asgardia’ to become the first new Space Nation
- First satellite of new nation to be launched in 2017 marking start of new era in the Space Age;
- Asgardia will open up access to space for commerce, science and peoples of all countries on earth;
- Key early development to include a shield against cosmic hazards
[PARIS, FRANCE] Plans were announced today at a press conference in Paris to create the first new Space Nation to be called ‘Asgardia’. The name derives from Norse mythology as the city of the skies ruled by Odin from Valhalla.
The first Asgardia satellite is planned to be launched in Autumn 2017, sixty years after the first ever satellite launch, and will mark a new era in the Space Age as the satellite will be independent of any current nation state on Earth: the satellite will comprise the nation itself, creating its own legal framework, flag and other symbols of nationhood.
The project team is being led by Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, one of the Russian Federation's most distinguished scientists and founder of the Aerospace International Research Center (AIRC) in Vienna. In a separate event in Paris yesterday [11 October 2016] he became chairman of UNESCO’s ‘Science of Space’ committee. Dr Ashurbeyli has consulted a group of globally renowned scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and legal experts on the development of the concept.
Dr Ashburbeyli said:
“The project's concept comprises
three parts – philosophical, legal and scientific/technological.
“Asgardia is a fully-fledged and
independent nation, and a future member of the United Nations - with
all the attributes this status entails.
“The essence of Asgardia is Peace in
Space, and the prevention of Earth’s conflicts being transferred
into space.
“Asgardia is also unique from a
philosophical aspect – to serve entire humanity and each and
everyone, regardless of his or her personal welfare and the
prosperity of the country where they happened to be born.
“The scientific and technological
component of the project can be explained in just three words –
peace, access and protection.
“The scientific and technological
envelope of Asgardia is a space arena for the scientific creativity
of its citizens and companies in developing a broad range of future
space technologies, products and services for humanity on Earth and
humanity in Space.”
The launch of the first Asgardia
satellite is planned for 2017, with the project developing from
there. Access to space is opening up, but the process remains slow
and is tightly controlled by states on earth, restricting commerce
and scientific developments in space by private enterprise. Of the
196 nation states on Earth, just thirteen (USSR, USA, France, Japan,
China, UK, India, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, South Korea and
North Korea) and one regional organisation (the European Space
Agency, ESA) have independently launched satellites on their own
indigenously developed launch vehicles.
Professor David Alexander, Director of
the Rice Space Institute at Rice University, Houston, Texas said:
“As low-earth orbit becomes more
accessible, what’s often called the “democratisation” of space,
a pathway is opening up to new ideas and approaches from a rich
diversity of participants. The mission of Asgardia to create
opportunities for broader access to space, enabling non-traditional
space nations to realise their scientific aspirations is exciting.”
Under current international space law,
including the widely adopted ‘Outer Space Treaty’, states are
required to authorise and supervise national space activities,
including the activities of commercial and not-for-profit
organisations. Objects launched into space are subject to their
nation of belonging and if a nation launches an object into space,
that nation is responsible for any damage that occurs internationally
and in outer space.
The project is creating a new framework
for ownership and nationhood in space, which will adapt current outer
space laws governing responsibility, private ownership and enterprise
so they are fit for purpose in the new era of space exploration. By
creating a new Space Nation, private enterprise, innovation and the
further development of space technology to support humanity will
flourish free from the tight restrictions of state control that
currently exist.
Professor Ram Jakhu, Director,
Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, Montreal, Canada
said:
“An appropriate and unique global
space legal regime is indispensable for governing outer space in
order to ensure it is explored on a sustainable basis for exclusively
peaceful purposes and to the benefit of all humanity, including
future generations living on planet earth and in outer space. The
development of foundational principles of such a legal regime ought
to take place at the same time as technological progress is being
made.”
One of the early developments planned
by the Asgardia team will be the creation of a state-of-the-art
protective shield for all humankind from cosmic manmade and natural
threats to life on earth such as space debris, coronal mass ejections
and asteroid collisions.
There are estimated to be more than
20,000 traceable objects of man-made space debris (MSD) including
non-active spacecraft, upper-stage rockets and final stage vehicles
as well as fragments of craft that potentially pose a dangerous
situation in near-Earth orbits. The impact of the Chelyabinsk
meteorite which crashed over a major Russian town as recently as
2013, injuring 1100 people and damaging 4000 buildings, is a reminder
of the threat that natural objects pose to life on the planet.
Whilst steps have already been taken by
the UN (through the International Asteroid Warning Network - IAWN)
and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) to identify
potentially hazardous scenarios, Asgardia will build on these
developments to help offer a more comprehensive mechanism.
Dr. Joseph N. Pelton, former Dean,
International Space University, Strasbourg, France said:
“The Asgardia project, among other
things, may help prepare better answers to the future governance of
outer space – a topic of major concern to the United Nations. The
exciting aspect of this initiative is its three phase approach to
providing broader access to space; promoting peace in outer space;
and addressing cosmic hazards and planetary defence.”
The Asgardia Project Team will comprise
a collaborative, multi-disciplinary effort from leading experts
around the globe which it is envisaged will grow over time as the
project evolves. But as well as expert involvement in the project,
Asgardia is looking to capture the wider public imagination by
crowd-sourcing key aspects of the project including involving members
of the public in competitions to help design the nation’s flag,
insignia and other symbols of nationhood.
To coincide with the press conference,
a website with further details about the project and public
involvement was also launched today at www.asgardia.space, including
details of competitions open to the public across the world to help
design the nation’s flag, insignia and anthem. In addition, the
site will allow the first 100,000 people to register to become
citizens of Asgardia alongside their nationality on earth. There will
also be a twitter handle @AsgardiaSpace which will provide updates on
the project and interaction between the Asgardia team and members of
the public.
