SpaceVR is a startup company developing
the world’s first virtual reality platform allowing users to #BeAnAstronaut and experience space firsthand from any mobile, desktop or virtual reality device. Through the use of 3D, 360-degree cameras, SpaceVR technology feeds livestream footage from the International Space Station’s (ISS) Cupola observatory module back to Earth so consumers can experience space travel in immersive 3D virtual reality.
The company is currently in a crowd-funding campaign that has reached just over $70k towards a $100k goal and they have 7 days remaining: SpaceVR: Step into Space by SpaceVR — Kickstarter.
The Kickstarter funds would cover the costs for
flight certification, launch costs, and 2D 16K resolution footage that will be physically down-massed (returned from space) to Earth 2x per year.
Here is a video describing the project:
The goal is to use the Virtual Reality system to bring the space experience to many more people than those who have actually flown in space;
Being in space and looking down at the earth, astronauts are hit with an astounding reality: our planet is a tiny, fragile ball of life, “hanging in the void”, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. It’s a phenomenon known as the Overview Effect.
Space is the final frontier, and everybody should have a chance to be a part of exploring it and, in turn, being influenced by it—to experience the Overview Effect. There’s a lot of excitement about exploring space by the people, for the people, and we can’t do it without you. Together we can make the universe accessible to everyone, inspire the next generation of explorers and get people excited about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) fields.
The more supporters we have, the more cool virtual reality experiences we’ll be able to capture in space. And when we get there, you won’t just be a bystander to history; you’ll feel like an active participant, standing side by side with the astronauts. We will all be explorers together.
Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson enjoyed the Cupola module in person:
