Timothy Justin Dodd (born February 27, 1985), also known as Everyday Astronaut, is an American science communicator, YouTube content creator, photographer, and musician.[1][2][3][4] After becoming popular with his space-themed photo series, Dodd was hired by the website Spaceflight Now[5] to photograph SpaceX's CRS-3 cargo mission to the International Space Station on April 18, 2014, NASA's Orion Test Flight EFT-1 on December 5, 2014,[6] the United States Air Force's GPS 2F-9 launch,[7] and NASA's OA-6 Mission on March 23, 2016.
Tim Dodd | |
|---|---|
 Dodd with RL10 rocket engine in June 2021 | |
| Born | February 27, 1985 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Science communicator |
| Years active | 2014-present |
| Website | everydayastronaut |
Career
editDodd originally worked as a photographer, where his main source of income was in wedding photography. His photography schedule allowed much free time, and he began using this free time to become involved in rocket photography.[8]
Dodd's father worked as a hardware engineer at Google, his father initially funded his rocket photography quest.
In 2013, he purchased an orange Russian high altitude survivor suit (crucial for water landings) in an online auction and later took photos of himself in the suit at a 2014 rocket launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as a joke; for a time, the suit was a trademark of his YouTube channel.[1][2] In late 2016, he grew dissatisfied with photography as his main means of employment, and continued to pursue his "Everyday Astronaut" internet persona on Instagram and Twitter.[2] In 2017, he created a YouTube channel covering spaceflight education, and that became his primary occupation.[2] He also makes music, which has been used as background music for Rocket Lab launches.[9]
After applying for the mission in 2022, Dodd was selected to participate in a lunar spaceflight as part of the dearMoon project crew.[10] The mission was to take place aboard the SpaceX Starship. Had it proceeded, dearMoon would have been the first commercial cislunar spaceflight, and it would have made Dodd the first YouTuber to enter cislunar space. The project was cancelled in June 2024, with the organizers citing broader Starship program delays for the cancellation.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Emre, Kelly. "For Everyday Astronaut, what was once a joke is now a job". Florida Today. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Tasoff, Harrison (June 15, 2018). "Tim Dodd Is the Everyday Astronaut: An Origin Story". Space.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ Byrne, Brendan (March 31, 2017). "Meet The "Everyday Astronaut"". 90.7 WMFE. WMFE. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Christina Zdanowicz (February 2017). "This man in a space suit has a message". CNN. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (August 17, 2017). "Photos: Falcon 9 rocket soars into space, lands back at Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- ^ Ray, Justin (December 5, 2014). "Photos: Orion launches at dawn". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ Ray, Justin (March 25, 2015). "Photos: Delta 4's foggy launch". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ Tasoff, Harrison (June 15, 2018). "Tim Dodd Is the Everyday Astronaut: An Origin Story". Space.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
- ^ Rocket Lab (June 19, 2024). Rocket Lab - 'No Time Toulouse' Launch. Retrieved June 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ dearMoon Crew Announcement! | 月周回プロジェクトdearMoon クルー発表, archived from the original on December 10, 2022, retrieved December 8, 2022
- ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
External links
edit