The first of its kind, the Space Kingdom of Asgardia has placed a tiny satellite into low Earth orbit making it the first "nation" to have its territory in space, despite legal disputes. Asgardia is a nonprofit non-governmental organization based in Vienna, Austria. It is the brainchild of the Russian aerospace engineer and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli. Its leaders want to build a kingdom and become the first nation state in space that mines asteroids and defends Earth from meteorites, space debris and other threats. Asgardia, named after a city in Norse mythology, will essentially serve as its own sovereign country where citizens can live, work and follow their own rules and regulations in space. "Asgardia will be a space nation that is a trans-ethnic, trans-national, trans-religious, ethical, peaceful entity trying to settle humanity in space," Ram Jakhu, the director of McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law and one of Asgardia's founding members, said during a press