World’s first space nation takes flight as 200,000 people prepare for futuristic life!

CHINCOTEAGUE, Virginia (PNN) - November 20, 2017 - Space nation Asgardia has launched its first satellite a year after Russian billionaire Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli proposed the plans.

More than 500,000 people applied to become citizens of Asgardia, the first space nation that will orbit the Earth and be free from politics and laws.

The idea came from billionaire Russian computer scientist Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli, who has already confirmed the first 200,000 citizens from the initial 500,000 applicants.

Earlier this week the Asgardia-1 satellite was launched.

The satellite is roughly the size of a loaf of bread and contains the personal details of 18,000 Asgardian citizens including things such as family photographs.

There is also a copy of Asgardia's flag, coat of arms, and Constitution aboard.

Anyone over 18 years of age, with an email address, regardless of gender, nationality, race, religion, and financial standing can apply for citizenship.

The satellite was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Asgardia-1 made its journey to the ISS aboard the OA-8 Antares-Cygnus, a NASA commercial cargo vehicle.

The Cygnus craft docked with the International Space Station on November 14 to perform its primary mission of delivering supplies to the astronauts there.

The satellite will remain in orbit for between five and 18 months, after which it will likely burn up and disappear.

Dr. Ashurbeyli has plans to convince the United Nations to recognize Asgardia as a nation, however it is currently not recognized by any country on Earth.

The only benefit currently offered to citizens of the space nation is the ability to upload data to Asgardia-1 in orbit.

Dr. Ashurbeyli said, "I promised there would be a launch. We selected NASA as a reliable partner because we have to meet the commitments that I made 13 months ago. Asgardia-1 will contain data stored for free for up to 1.5 million Asgardians on board the satellite. These are historic days, and your names and data will forever stay in the memory of the new space humanity, as they will be reinstalled on every new Asgardia satellite we launch. Asgardia-1 is our first, small step, which we hope will lead to a giant leap forward for mankind."

Dr. Ram Jakhu, associate professor at McGill University, said, “Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the great Asgardian experiment is its commitment to transnational democracy. The parliamentary elections give everyone a chance to play their role in shaping this new nation. My hope is that the Parliament will be made up of people from all different backgrounds across the world. Together they will be the engine that drives Asgardia forward into the next space age.”

Rayven Sin, an artist based in Hong Kong, said she signed up to become an Asgardian in November 2016 after hearing about it on a Chinese radio show.

She said, ”I really want to be able to see if human beings are able to have more opportunity to express their opinions. The society we live in now - everything seems to be either capitalism or communism - there's a lot of conflict. As a human being, I would hope (to see) if we could have other ways for a better life, and for more options."