Brazilian from Minas Gerais Victor Hispanha, 28, never imagined that simply buying non-fungible tokens (NFTs) could take him into space. But that’s exactly what will happen, literally.
A production engineer has been given a collectible digital blockchain from the Crypto Space Agency (CSA), the space agency focused on crypto assets, and is drawn to embark on the fifth manned flight of Blue Origin, the space tourism company of billionaire Jeff Bezos, into space. On the New Shepard missile.
The official announcement was made by the Canadian Space Agency in a press release issued on Monday (9).
As reported by the Crypto Space Agency, Victor’s journey will be entirely sponsored by the organization, which aims to unite the space industry with the world of cryptocurrency.
“At a historic moment that is beginning to reveal the real-world impact that Web3 – and NFTs in particular – can have, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is making space travel accessible to everyday people,” the company said in the statement.
The launch date of the manned flight has not yet been announced.
NFT takes the Brazilian into space
According to the CSA, as of April 25, 2021, the organization has made 5,555 Gen 1 NFTs available in the market. At the time, the organization promised buyers of NFTs that it would give one of them the chance to go into space.
As early as April 30, the company used an on-chain randomizer to select its first cryptocurrency pioneer. And then Victor Hispania was chosen.
Hispaniha, who is fond of space, said he originally invested as part of his portfolio diversification strategy.
“I bought thinking about the potential for appreciation,” Hispaniha said. “I never imagined mine would be charted. CSA is fulfilling my childhood dream through NFT.”
As for ISTO É, Victor said he knew very few details about the flight, such as, for example, that it would take 11 minutes and 5 of it in zero gravity:
“We’ll leave the line of the atmosphere and float for 5 minutes in a capsule at a very high speed. The ‘window’ is big, and you can see a lot,” he said of the videos I’ve seen.
The engineer said he invested about R$4,000 in the NFT. However, I did not imagine that this would be enough to pay for the flight into space:
“It’s scary too, I never thought [que conseguiria]. I am an ordinary person, but I have this amazing opportunity. This shows that space travel is not just about billionaires.”
Second Brazilian in space
Victor will be the second Brazilian to fly into space. The first of these was the former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes, in 2006.
In fact, an average of only six people have been in space at any one time, despite the trillions of dollars spent by space agencies.
According to the CSA, its main thesis is that the space and cryptocurrency sectors share a common vision of greater political and economic freedom and that together they can unleash the power of humanity’s imagination and passion for space.
“Implementing a space program is a maturing moment for emerging states. This is the moment for a crypto-state to make its first deeply tokenized cryptocurrency pioneer,” said Joshua Scorla, co-founder of CSA. “This is just the beginning of Web3 platforms transforming human society in real life.”
In addition to space travel, the Canadian Space Agency said it is investing in new methods to search for extraterrestrial intelligence, defend against potentially dangerous asteroids, and incubate off-world commercial ventures. For this, the organization will use the proceeds from the NFTs and secondary sales royalty rates of 7.5%.
In addition, the Canadian Space Agency plans to send another NFT holder into space before the end of the year.
“Victor left the real world when he bought his first NFT and is now literally leaving the planet. It’s a Matrix moment,” said Sam Hutchison, co-founder of CSA. “Web3 blurs the line between fantasy and reality. And CSA brings these amazing experiences to its members.”
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