Space and satellite company mu Space confirms they sent its second payload into space, including signature boards with names of people written on them. mu Space’s payload was one of the 38 payloads that were taken above the Karman line into space.
The payload flew onboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard space vehicle, launched on 2 May from West Texas, USA. The New Shepard vertical takeoff and vertical landing vehicle is capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of payloads per flight and will ultimately carry up to six passengers to altitudes beyond 100 kilometers, also known as the Karman Line, the internationally-recognized boundary of space.
“The spaceflight is part of our campaign to raise public awareness about space,” said mu Space’s CEO and founder James Yenbamroong, adding that “it’s an initial step to make many people’s dream of virtually traveling to space a reality.”
Last year, mu Space installed the signature boards at the tech events Digital Thailand Big Bang and TechSauce Global Summit to gather a thousand names and signatures. Among those who signed the board include foreign and Thai government leaders, as well as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of Thailand.
#FlyMeToSpace signature board as of this time! We'll send this thing into space. Hurry #TSGS18 people, come to our booth at Experiencing Zone to include your name on. @TechsauceGlobal @techsauceth pic.twitter.com/JrZjMhy5Yl
— mu Space Corp (@muSpaceTech) June 23, 2018
“This initiative is the first in Asia and this is something Thais should be proud of. It shows Thailand’s capability to participate in the space race and create history”, said James.
It was the second time that mu Space sent a payload into space aboard the New Shepard space vehicle. Last year, the company sent experiments and items — including a bleeding preventive device, a carbon nanotube and a vacuum-sealed food product — to learn about the effects of microgravity on the structure and properties of things.
Today, @blueorigin successfully launched New Shepard’s Mission 9, carrying payloads from private & public organisations. Among them was a 6kg Thai payload with textiles from @muSpaceTech, carbon nanotube from @ChulalongkornU, food from @GISTDA & others. https://t.co/6QN4LIf2sy
— SpaceTech Asia (@SpaceTechAsia) July 19, 2018
“We’ll participate in two other spaceflights of Blue Origin. For our future payload, we’re working with universities and government agencies to send into space several experiments and scientific research,” James added.
mu Space, founded in 2017, plans to lead space technology development and encourage new space investments in Asia-Pacific. Just last month, mu Space submitted a proposal to enter into a space project of NASA to develop an autonomous lunar landing system. The company has partnered with an undisclosed aerospace manufacturing company in the US to get qualified in the selection process.
The successful project proposals will be officially announced by NASA in October 2019.
