Tim Dodd
Timothy Justin Dodd (born February 27, 1985), also known as Everyday Astronaut, is an American science communicator, YouTube content creator, photographer, and musician. After becoming popular with his space-themed photo series, Dodd was hired by the website Spaceflight Now 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, the United States Air Force's GPS 2F-9 launch, and NASA's OA-6 Mission on March 23, 2016.
Tim Dodd | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dodd with the RL10 rocket engine in 2021 | |
| Born | February 27, 1985 Iowa, U.S. |
| Occupation | Science communicator |
| Years active | 2014-present |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Subscribers | 1.9 million |
| Views | 356 million |
| Last updated: 9 January 2026 | |
| Website | everydayastronaut.com |
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.
Career
[edit]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]
On 17 March 2025, the International Astronomical Union named the Mars-crossing asteroid 1999 RC2 as 27234 Timdodd, in honor of his career.[13]
Astro Awards
[edit]Tim started an annual virtual award ceremony in 2017[14] to share the highlights of every year in spaceflight and commemorate the revolutionary space agencies and their missions. But since 2024, Tim started the physical version of the Astro Awards and called up spokespersons from different agencies and rewarded them and their team for dawning space missions in that year. The Astro Awards ceremonies are held annually in January at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas.[15][16][17]
Astro Awards winners
[edit]2017 winners
[edit]Honorable mention - SpaceX Falcon Heavy
Seventh place - SpaceX CRS-10 for refurbishment and use of the LC39A launchpad leased from NASA three years prior
Sixth place - ISRO PSLV C-37 for India's achievement of launching 103 satellites into polar orbit at a low cost of $15 million.
Fifth place - The discovery of Oumuamua, being the first known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System.[14]
Fourth place - Observation of both light waves, X-rays, and gravitational waves via the LIGO observation of a Kilonova.[14]
Third place - Total Solar eclipse over much of the continental United States in August of 2017.[14]
Second place - Final observations of Cassini while intentionally crashing into Saturn's atmosphere to avoid contamination of Saturn's moons.[14]
First place - SpaceX SES-10 for the first reflight of an orbital-class booster, core 21.[14]
2018 winners
Honorable mention - Jet Propulsion Labratory for Voyager II's entrance into interstellar space.[18]
Honorable mention - Soyuz MS-10 abort for the safe recovery of all the astronauts aboard the mission.[18]
Honorable mention - Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity for the start of its operation of suborbital space tourism.[18]
Honorable mention - OSIRIS-REx for its successful collision and return of a sample from the Bennu asteroid.[18]
Honorable mention - TESS satellite for its finding of many new exoplanets.[18]
Honorable mention - Hayabusa 2, for Japan's mission to Ryugu.[18]
Honorable mention - NASA CCDev program selection of SpaceX and Boeing to restore American astronaut access to the International Space Station, bypassing increasingly expensive Soyuz missions.[18]
Honorable mention - ISRO's Gangayan preperations for human spaceflight at a very low cost[18]
Honorable mention - Rocket Lab's It's Business Time mission, for being the first launch of its Electron rocket to reach orbit and deliver a payload.[18]
Honorable mention - NASA JPL's Parker Solar Probe for its mission to study the outer corona of the Sun.[18]
Honorable mention - SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 deployment and flight[18]
Honorable mention - NASA InSight mission for successfully landing on and observing Mars.[18]
Honorable mention - SpaceX Falcon Heavy's first flight[18]
See also
[edit]- Scott Manley, Scottish science communicator and YouTuber
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, December 8, 2022, archived from the original on December 10, 2022, retrieved December 8, 2022
- ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Everyday Astronaut presents Astro Awards Live - CultureMap Austin". austin.culturemap.com. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f Everyday Astronaut (January 1, 2018). The 7 best space moments of 2017!!!!. Retrieved April 12, 2026 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Everyday Astronaut - AstroAwards LIVE". Everyday Astronaut - AstroAwards LIVE. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "NASA Astronaut Candidate Anna Menon - NASA". Retrieved September 23, 2025.
- ^ "Everyday Astronaut - AstroAwards January 2025". Everyday Astronaut - AstroAwards January 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Everyday Astronaut (December 31, 2018). Best Space Moments of 2018! ASTRO AWARDS!. Retrieved April 12, 2026 – via YouTube.
External links
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