Tim Dodd

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Tim Dodd
Tim Dodd.jpg
Dodd with RL10 rocket engine in June 2021
Born (1985-02-27) February 27, 1985 (age 40)
Iowa, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationScience communicator
Years active2014-present
Website everydayastronaut.com
The logo of "Everyday Astronaut" Everyday Astronaut logo.png
The logo of "Everyday Astronaut"

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.

Contents

Career

Dodd 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]

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]

From 2023, he transformed his annual spaceflight recap videos of that the preceding year in spaceflight, dubbed "Astro Awards" to an in-person awards show. This is being held every year since then, honouring inspirational, innovative and important mission of the preceding year, much similar to Michael Collins Trophy, presented by National Air and Space Museum. [12] [13]

On 17 March 2025, International Astronomical Union named the Mars-crossing asteroid 1999 RC2 as 27234 Timdodd, in honor of his career. [14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ Ray, Justin (December 5, 2014). "Photos: Orion launches at dawn". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Rocket Lab (June 19, 2024). Rocket Lab - 'No Time Toulouse' Launch . Retrieved June 20, 2024– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ 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
  11. ↑ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Everyday Astronaut presents Astro Awards Live - CultureMap Austin". austin.culturemap.com. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  13. ↑ falconzord (February 13, 2025). "Everyday Astronaut: The 2nd Annual In-Person Astro Awards". r/SpaceXLounge. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  14. ↑ International Astronomical Union (March 17, 2025). "New Names of Minor Planets" (PDF). WGSBN Bulletin. 5 (4). Retrieved March 24, 2025. Timothy Justin Dodd (b. 1985) is an American science communicator, photographer, and musician. His YouTube channel Everyday Astronaut, where he makes videos about spaceflight, has gained more than one million subscribers.
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