Astronaut Launches 1st NFT, Raises $500K To Help Ukraine Fight Russia

A former NASA astronaut who spent nearly a year on the International Space Station is the latest public figure to release non-fungible tokens.

Scott Kelly is launching his first NFT compilation, “Dreams Out of This World,” today, on International Day of Human Space Flight, to benefit Ukraine’s humanitarian efforts in the face of Russia’s war.

Orange Comet, a content development studio, created the NFT. Kelly and the studio have pledged to donate 100 percent of the initial drop’s net earnings to The Global Empowerment Mission in support of their work in Ukraine.

The presentation of the NFT is also designed to attract mainstream audiences to crypto and encourage them to explore the unknown, much like he did during his early space flight days.

Sold Out

Kelly’s collection comprises of 3,333 works of generative art that are presently for sale on OpenSea. Each image depicts the astronaut in a variety of settings, like floating in space, wearing a gorilla suit, or draped in the colors of Ukraine’s flag.

His entire NFT collection sold out in just a few hours, raising more than $500,000.

“My story is not typical of an astronaut. I was a poor student growing up – I struggled in school and was a bit of a daydreamer,” Kelly shared to Space.com.

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Record-Holder Astronaut

Kelly is also a retired US Navy captain and a former military test and fighter pilot and engineer. On three voyages, he served as commander of the ISS.

In October 2015, he established a new record for the total number of days spent in space, making it the longest space mission ever undertaken by an American astronaut.

Kelly stated that he was inspired by a book — Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff” — and so believes wholeheartedly in the notion that “inspiration, when used correctly and to the right person at the right moment, may produce amazing results.”

“I have a strong belief in technology. I was quite interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology — perhaps not early enough, but in the last few years,” Kelly explained.

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Book Author & Crypto Believer

His entry into the NFT arena is a natural continuation for this space pioneer, who considers digital art as the fundamental building blocks of the metaverse – a brand new digital world that is yet in its infancy but offers limitless possibilities.

He published a book of his space images in 2018 and has since authored other volumes, including one titled “Ready to Launch” that was released today.

Kelly has orbited the Earth more than 8,300 times and traveled more than 200 million miles, providing him with a unique perspective. He has also flown over or traveled to numerous places on Earth.

“I believe that the metaverse, cryptocurrency and blockchain will all play a significant role in our future,” he said. “As a result, it seemed like the appropriate time for me to become involved.”

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