Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said he reviewed a major spaceflight project with SpaceX to promote Cardano and the privacy-focused sidechain Midnight, but it ultimately failed to materialise.

On June 20, blockchain media outlet Decrypt reported that Hoskinson addressed a community controversy over a scrapped SpaceX partnership in a recent AMA (Ask Me Anything) broadcast. He said discussions were halted because pricing and market conditions did not align, not because a contract collapsed.

Hoskinson said the project was a large, experiential campaign beyond a typical marketing partnership. The core idea was to secure a SpaceX spaceflight mission and involve users of the Cardano (ADA) and Midnight (NIGHT) ecosystems. It also included offering ADA and NIGHT token holders a chance to apply as astronauts, with selected participants receiving professional astronaut training with Hoskinson before joining an actual space mission.

The project also reviewed possible cooperation with space infrastructure company VAST Space. VAST Space was founded by Jed McCaleb, who is known as a Ripple co-founder.

Hoskinson said the discussions advanced to a fairly concrete stage. He said they included visits to SpaceX facilities in Hawthorne, technical meetings, price negotiations and even talks on access to the Dragon capsule.

He said the project did not move to execution because the cost and market conditions did not line up. Hoskinson also rejected claims that he missed the opportunity by mistake. He said it was not that a deal fell apart, but that market conditions changed as talks were progressing and it ultimately did not come together.

He cited the crypto market downturn as a reason the project was halted. Hoskinson said the plan was designed on the premise of a stronger bull market. He said a large promotional campaign using private spaceflight would require substantial costs, and the market needed to show growth strong enough to support it.

He said ADA price trends were also an important variable. Cardano at one point rose above $1.20 in 2024 amid expectations of an improving political and regulatory environment, but then continued to fall as upward momentum weakened, he said. He judged that it became difficult to justify a spaceflight project that could reach tens of millions of dollars under market conditions.

The remarks are drawing attention because they revealed details of what is seen as one of the most unusual marketing projects considered by the Cardano ecosystem. The concept of putting token holders into an actual spaceflight program could deliver a strong promotional effect, but it also showed it is heavily affected by market cycles and cost burdens.

Hoskinson said the idea has not been completely discarded. He suggested it could be reviewed again if market conditions improve. The concept of sending the Cardano and Midnight communities into space has been put on hold for now, but there appears to still be a possibility it could be discussed again if a bull market resumes.