Eytan Stibbe

Stibbe was born in Haifa in 1958 and grew up in the United States until the age of 7, when the family moved back to Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv. His parents immigrated from the Netherlands to Israel in 1953. His father was a soil and water researcher at the Volcani Institute in Rehovot, and his mother was a social worker at a mental health clinic in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hen. Stibbe studied at the well-regarded Blich high school in Ramat Gan and was active in the Israeli Scouts (Tzofim) movement.

In July 1976, Stibbe started the Israeli Air Force’s fighter pilot training course. He first served as a Skyhawk pilot in Squadrons 102 and 140, then moved to Squadron 201 (Phantoms) and continued on to become an F-16 pilot in Squadron 117. During his time in the IAF he was assigned to 117 Squadron flying F-16s under the command of Colonel Ilan Ramon, who later became the first ever Israeli to fly in space aboard STS-107.[1] He completed his military service in 1984 and continued to serve as a reservist in Squadron 117 until 2012. He obtained the rank of Colonel.

During his regular and reserve service, Stibbe took part in hundreds of the squadrons’ operations and training exercises. During the 1982 Lebanon War, Stibbe shot down five Syrian aircraft. On June 9 he shot down a MiG-23, and two days later, on June 11, he participated in an aerial dogfight above the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, in which a quartet of Hawk (F-16A) planes from Squadron 117 brought down nine enemy aircraft. Stibbe himself was responsible for four of the hits: two Sukhoi Su-22 jets, a MiG-23 and a Gazelle attack helicopter. He thus became one of the few Israel Air Force pilots to shoot down four enemy aircraft during a single sortie.

From 2013—2019, he was an instructor at the Israel Air Force Flight Academy, teaching in the Primary Phase of the combat pilots’ course. During his 43 years of flying in the IAF, Stibbe logged thousands of flight hours and received both the IAF’s Outstanding Reservist award and its Distinguished Service Medal.

Festive announcement about Eytan Stibbe, the second Israeli on his way to space with the president of Israel Reuven Rivlin, November 2020

In 1984, after his military service, Stibbe joined a team of advisers at Israel Aircraft Industries that was working on the development of systems for the Lavi. In 1985, he was among the founders of Elar, which implemented projects and established infrastructures in developing countries. The projects included setting up air and naval defense systems (which were developed by the Israeli defense technology companies Rafael and Elbit), operating cellular and satellite communications systems, setting up agricultural development projects, establishing youth villages and more. Stibbe’s primary role at LR was developing a funding apparatus for international projects in cooperation with international development banks and institutions. In 2011, he left LR and sold his share of the company (33%). In 2012, he acquired 35% of Mitrelli, an engineering, procurement and construction company (ECP) whose fields of operation were similar to those of LR. In 2018, Stibbe left Mitrelli and sold all of his shares in the company.

Stibbe established Vital Capital Fund in 2010, the company invests in enterprises whose goal is to improve the economic, personal and social wellbeing of low- and middle-income communities. The fund’s investment strategy is to invest in companies whose intention is to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a competitive financial return. The companies must also firmly adhere to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, based on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Through these initiatives, millions of people have received essential services such as clean drinking water, electricity and healthcare services for the very first time. During its 10 years of operation, Vital Capital has won international acclaim as an opinion leader and a pioneer in the field of impact investment.

As a trailblazer in this field, Stibbe is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) headquartered in Geneva. He is also a member of the advisory committee of Bridges Israel, an impact investment fund that invests in Israeli businesses. Stibbe is a partner in HarTech, which develops simulation systems; LISOD, Hospital of Israeli Oncology in Ukraine; Pangea Therapeutics, a digital healthcare company that develops highly personalized cancer medications and treatments based on computational genomics; and Proprep, an online STEM tutorial company that enables students to realize their full potential in mathematics and the sciences through individually tailored videos and exercises.

Stibbe served under the command of Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, at Squadron 117. In 2010, he was part of a close group of the Ramon family friends who established the Ramon Foundation in the memory of Ilan and Asaf Ramon. Throughout the years and up until today, Stibbe has been actively engaged in the work of the foundation, accompanying its educational activity and in setting its guidelines.

In addition, Stibbe is an active member of the Steering Committee of the Center for African Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva; a member of the Steering Committee of the University of Haifa’s Board of Governors; and an Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Stibbe is also a partner in the establishment of social initiatives including Remembrance in the Living Room for commemoration of the Holocaust. Additionally, he serves on the steering committee and board of governors at various academies and nongovernmental organizations that are devoted to the humanities, education, art and culture.

Eytan Stibbe and his wife are the founders and supporters of the social benefit company Anatta, which supports social and educational initiatives, and established the Human Spirit Treatment Center the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod in central Israel. The center provides subsidized mental health treatment to low-income clients.

On behalf of the Ramon Foundation, Eytan Stibbe will be the second Israeli in space, thus one of the pioneers of the private space industry in the world. The bulk of his time during this mission will be dedicated to conducting educational experiments. He is slated to fly in space aboard SpaceX Axiom Space-1 as a space tourist in October 2021.[2] He would become the second Israeli in space, after Ilan Ramon, who died in the Columbia disaster, returning from space.[3]

His mission is called Rakia which was the title of the book published with the fragments of the diary of Ilan Ramon, which survived the 2003 Columbia crash tragedy.[4]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eytan Stibbe.

SpaceX Axiom Space-1 spacetravellers

• Larry Connor (US tourist)
• Mark Pathy (Canadian tourist)
• Michael López-Alegría (mission pilot)