Dogecoin used to pay for lunar satellite mission with SpaceX

The rise of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin has reached a new level after the token was used to pay for a lunar satellite launch.

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s commercial rocket firm, will embark on a Moon voyage in 2022 carrying a so-called cubesat — a mini-satellite used for space research — from Geometric Energy Corp. that’s been paid for entirely in Dogecoin.

The development is just the latest twist in the saga over the digital token, which started as a joke in 2013 but is now a dominating Internet meme and sitting on a 21,000% rally in the past year. Musk has been a key player in the drama, boosting the price with a succession of tweets in recent months.