Making Space Accessible: Democratizing Space Exploration with Adaptive and Playable Space Assets

This thesis explores a new approach to making space more accessible and interactive through the development of Playable Space Assets (PSAs)—space technologies that the public can engage with or contribute to directly. Traditionally, space missions have been the domain of governments and large companies, but PSAs aim to change that by inviting a broader audience, to participate in real-time space exploration/missions. To bring this idea to life, the study focuses on building a test prototype: a stratospheric test bed with the interactive game called Space Darts, which together showcase how PSAs could work in practice and sustain themselves over time. Alongside the technical work—which includes building the system architecture, analyzing subsystems, and setting up communication frameworks—this thesis also develops a clear business plan for PSAs. It explores how these assets could operate sustainably, generate revenue, and grow through partnerships. By making space technology more interactive and accessible, this study highlights new ways for people to connect with space, adding social and economic value to space infrastructure. Through case studies and comparative analysis of existing space assets, this research identifies new opportunities for public involvement that significantly enhance the social and economic value of space infrastructure as well.