SpaceX Accepts Dogecoin Payment for Launching DOGE-1 Satellite

Geometric Energy Corporation has rebooked a launch with SpaceX for the DOGE-1 satellite mission to the Moon, fully paid for with the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

GEC @GeometricEnergy paid @SpaceX in DOGE for re-booking the DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon to a mission after IM-1, which could be a @Int_Machines mission such as IM-2 or another mission depending upon when the DOGE-1 satellite ships to @maverick_space in the U.S. from @ExoboticsUK pic.twitter.com/5MKzDMIxtP

— SΔMUΞL RΞIÐ (e/acc) (@SamuelReidGEC) February 5, 2024

The initiative was initially planned for the first quarter of 2022. It was expected that the 40-kilogram cubesat would conduct spatial reconnaissance of the lunar surface.

CEO of Geometric Energy, Samuel Reid, indicated that the launch might occur as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission. According to the statement, its lunar lander is already loaded into the rocket’s payload fairing.

In coordination with @SpaceX, our IM-1 mission launch is targeted for a multi-day launch window that opens no earlier than 12:57 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 14th from Launch Complex 39A at @NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.https://t.co/I4rIKcGaTk pic.twitter.com/qxEhicI80h

— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 5, 2024

The launch will take place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a multi-day launch window opening on February 14.

Reid clarified that if there is a delay in the satellite’s delivery by the manufacturer, DOGE-1 will join the future IM-2 program.

In January, another space mission by the Dogecoin community ended in failure—the attempt to send a physical wallet with cryptocurrency to the Moon. The initiative was part of Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One project.

After the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle, it began consuming fuel excessively, making the lunar journey impossible. Peregrine-1 also carried a hardware wallet with 1 BTC from the BitMEX exchange.

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, revealed that he owns “a large amount of Dogecoin,” although the company holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet.