Dogecoin-Funded Moon Mission Moves Closer to Launch with Key Regulatory Approval

According to CoinDesk, the DOGE-1 satellite, a moon mission funded by dogecoin (DOGE), has received a key regulatory approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This approval is a precursor to the final Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license. The satellite is being developed by space technology firm Geometric Energy Corporation, which announced the project in May 2021. The satellite will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Samuel Reid, CEO of Geometric Energy Corporation, confirmed the NTIA approval and stated that they are still awaiting the FCC license grant, which will address X-Band and S-Band. The DOGE-1 satellite will display advertisements, images, and logos on a miniature screen, which will then be broadcast to Earth. The satellite launch was entirely paid for in DOGE tokens, making it the first of its kind. Initially announced by SpaceX founder Elon Musk in 2021, the launch of DOGE-1 has been repeatedly postponed by Intuitive Machines' launch provider SpaceX. The planned launch has now been pushed back to January 2024. DOGE-1 is one of two dogecoin-related missions planned in the coming months. Earlier this month, Dogecoin developers announced that a physical dogecoin token could reach Earth's moon in a space payload mission planned by Pittsburgh-based firm Astrobotic. The mission, scheduled for December 23, carries 21 payloads from governments, companies, universities, and NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.