TON, SERA seek to ‘democratize’ space travel with onchain astronaut voting

The TON blockchain is powering a global onchain vote to send six civilians into space, five from underrepresented countries, and one from the general public.

The US-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) and The Open Network (TON) Foundation have launched a new Telegram-based Mini App that will allow users to vote on who gets to fly to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket.

The initiative, called Mission Control, is part of a broader effort to “democratize” space access by opening up astronaut selection to global users via onchain voting on the TON blockchain, according to a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

According to the announcement, SERA has secured all six seats on a future Blue Origin New Shepard mission, currently scheduled for launch between the first and second quarters of 2026.

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