Space exploration has historically been a domain of government activity. SERA is changing that by democratizing access.

Built on TON Blockchain and running entirely within Telegram, SERA's Mission Control mini app in Telegram lets anyone with a smartphone participate. They can either launch their own campaign to become an astronaut or vote for the best person to represent their nation on an upcoming human spaceflight with Blue Origin's New Shepherd mission.

The response has been significant. Since the Sept 30, 2025 press announcement, the community has grown to over 90,000 participants from 175 countries, all competing for a chance to fly.

Global communities now vote on who flies to space. No advanced credentials required, no exclusive access gates, just on-chain selection where the decision belongs to participants worldwide.

How It Works

The SERA Mission Control mini app runs inside Telegram. Users complete challenges, build communities, and earn SpaceDust (reward points) as part of the qualification process. The entire selection process operates on TON's decentralized infrastructure, giving communities power to decide who flies and which science experiments go to space.

Six seats are reserved: five for nations with few or no astronauts, such as Nigeria, India, Brazil, Thailand, and one open seat for the rest of the world. This initiative follows SERA's previous collaboration with Blue Origin, which sent Victor Hespanha to space as South America's first civilian astronaut.

The SERA Science Platform, also powered by TON, allows the global community to propose and vote on microgravity experiments. Space research moves from exclusive labs to collaborative, community-driven processes. TON's architecture and Telegram integration support this fully on-chain program.

How TON Makes This Possible

Running global voting at this scale requires infrastructure that handles high transaction volumes, maintains transparency, and keeps costs low for mass participation. TON delivers on all three.

TON processes over 104,000 transactions per second with costs averaging $0.003 per transaction. This combination of speed and affordability means millions of users can participate without network congestion or prohibitive fees. Settlement happens in 3--5 seconds, ensuring votes are recorded and confirmed almost instantly.

Telegram's integration gives SERA access to 1B+ users worldwide. The mini-app architecture means anyone can participate without complex wallet setups or learning blockchain mechanics. The technology works invisibly while users focus on the mission.

On-chain voting provides complete transparency. Every vote records to the blockchain, creating an auditable record that prevents manipulation and builds trust in the selection process. For a program designed to democratize space access, this transparency is the foundation.

Meet the Founders: Making Space Accessible

SERA was co-founded in 2022 by space entrepreneur Sam Hutchison and media/finance entrepreneur Joshua Skurla, merging proven technical credibility with global scaling strategy.

Sam Hutchison is a veteran of the new space economy. From 2008 to 2016, he worked at Reaction Engines Ltd., serving as Director of Corporate Development and later President and Chairman of the U.S. subsidiary, securing over $150m of public and private funding for breakthrough hypersonic and space propulsion technology. This included support from the UK government, USAF and DARPA.

Skurla provides strategic and scaling expertise, with 20+ years of entrepreneurial leadership, his background draws on a foundation in private equity and venture capital. He previously financed and produced films that generated over $1B in global box office revenue, including the Academy Award-winning The Revenant. That chapter taught him how to align capital, creativity, and distribution to deliver impact at scale --- skills he now brings to SERA, leading the integration of Web3 platforms and human-centered storytelling.

Together, Hutchison and Skurla combine technical credibility with commercial and cultural acceleration. Hutchison provides aerospace legitimacy and handles partnerships with Blue Origin, national space agencies, and TON Foundation, focused on developing the technical programs and space mission systems. Skurla leads the creative direction, media partnerships, and content strategy, applying his expertise to build a global community and scale the venture by uniting finance, media, and technology.

Coming Soon: Inside the Mission

We sat down with the SERA team to discuss the mission, the rapid growth and adoption rate of new users into the SERA Mission Control mini app on Telegram and the excitement this mission has brought within the Telegram community at large.

The conversation covers the importance of community. "SERA's community of over 50k people has one thing in common, regardless of what language they speak, the country they come from, or their economic background: they share a deep passion for space and a strong desire to be a participant, an active voice in the future of space. SERA's mission is to help make space a reality so that anyone, from anywhere can participate in space exploration and research," said Josh Skurla, co-founder of SERA.

Another one of the main focus areas besides the astronaut selection process is what the community driven science experiments will be and how this will be decided, all of which underscores the importance of having an open and democratic platform when it comes to the future of the space economy.

"By democratizing access to space, we could accelerate scientific progress and move closer to unlocking the solar system's vast resources for the benefit of all humanity. Making this a reality starts on the ground floor, building up educational pipelines in regions that have historically lacked access to space exploration and research. By fostering the next generation of space enthusiasts worldwide, we can build a global community of innovators ready to tackle the challenges of exploration" added Sam Hutchison, co-founder of SERA

The interview offers a behind-the-scenes look at how blockchain technology will help enable anyone, anywhere to actively participate in space, our common future, which historically has been inaccessible to everyday people.

Watch the trailer to get a preview of the full interview series, dropping soon.

[Trailer Link]

Join the Mission

SERA is accepting participants now. Sign up and join the astronaut selection program here:

The SERA Mission Control mini app is live in Telegram. Start completing challenges, earning SpaceDust points, and participating in the community that will help select the next astronauts to fly with Blue Origin.

Space exploration is going on-chain. With TON Blockchain powering transparent, global voting and Telegram providing access to nearly a billion users, SERA proves that the final frontier doesn't have to belong to the few.

Join Mission Control: https://ton.sera.space

Join the community: https://t.me/seraspaceage

Stay tuned for the full interview series with the SERA team, where we explore the intersection of blockchain technology, space exploration, and democratized access to humanity's greatest frontier.