Space Adventures

Space Adventures’ first orbital spaceflight client and the world's first private space explorer launched to the ISS in April 2001 on Soyuz TM-32. American businessman Dennis Tito received training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City in Russia. Tito participated in Space Adventures’ other programs, including a zero-gravity flight, centrifuge training and a supersonic jet flight prior to his orbital flight.

Mark Shuttleworth spent 10 days in space. He launched with two crewmates, Russian commander Yuri Gidzenko and Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori. They launched on Soyuz rocket TM-34 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on April 25, 2002. Prior to his flight, Shuttleworth completed Space Adventures’ Orbital Pre-Qualification Program and underwent almost eight months of training and medical exams, including a one-week orientation program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. A zero-gravity flight, centrifuge training, and spacecraft communication, guidance and control system lessons of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and ISS were also part of his training. Shuttleworth dedicated his flight to educating South African youth and conducting scientific research.[6]

Gregory Olsen completed over 900 hours of training in Star City, Russia in preparation for his mission. He and his crew mates launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on October 1, 2005 aboard Soyuz TMA-7. While aboard the ISS, he participated in a research program prepared by the European Space Agency that studied the human body's response to the microgravity environment. Through Amateur Radio on the ISS, Dr. Olsen contacted high school students in New Jersey and New York.[7]

Anousheh Ansari lifted off on Soyuz TMA-9 on September 18, 2006 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Ansari became the fourth (and first female) space tourist. During her eight-day stay on board the International Space Station, Ansari conducted four experiments for the European Space Agency, including researching the mechanisms behind anemia, how changes in muscles influence lower back pain, consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.[8]

Charles Simonyi is the first repeat orbital spaceflight client of Space Adventures'. His first spaceflight mission was in 2007 aboard Soyuz TMA-10 and his second was in 2009 aboard Soyuz TMA-14. Simonyi's goals for both of his missions were to advance civilian spaceflight, assist space station research and involve the world's youth in the science of space travel. His website, www.charlesinspace.com, had 33 million viewers.[9]

Richard Garriott became the first American and second overall second-generation space traveler on following his astronaut father Owen Garriott into space in 2008. He is also the second person to wear the British flag in space. He launched for the International Space Station on October 12, 2008 aboard Soyuz TMA-13. Richard's main objective for his mission was to encourage commercial participation. By fostering the involvement of individuals, companies and organizations in his spaceflight, Richard hoped to demonstrate that there is commercial potential in private space exploration, while furthering the understanding of space. One of his crewmates on his return journey to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-12 was Sergey Volkov, the first second-generation space traveler, who followed his father, cosmonaut Aleksandr Volkov into space.

Guy Laliberté is the first Canadian space tourist who reached orbit on September 30, 2009 aboard Soyuz TMA-16. While in orbit, Laliberté promoted the One Drop Foundation and proclaimed his mission as a “Poetic Social Mission”. He also conducted the first ever artistic and social event, “Moving Stars and Earth for Water,” to originate from space that took place on October 9, 2009.[10] It was a two-hour event that was hosted by Laliberté and many celebrities such as Salma Hayek, Shakira and Bono, who participated from Earth.[10] He returned to Earth on board Soyuz TMA-14.

• Barbara Barrett
• Lance Bass
• Esther Dyson
• Daisuke Enomoto
• Nik Halik
• Sarah Brightman[11]
• Satoshi Takamatsu[4]

A program was originally setup to allow individuals to reserve seats on future orbital spaceflights and then retain the option to fly to orbit as their schedule allowed with preferential access to mission seats, or they can opt to sell their seat to another private astronaut. Sergey Brin, co-founder and president of technology for Google Inc., became the founding member of the "Founding Explorer" group by placing a US$5 million deposit on a future orbital spaceflight in 2009.[12] In the event, Brin has never exercised his option to fly on one of the available seats as of 2020.

In 2010, Space Adventures established the Orbital Mission Explorers Circle to build a definitive consortium of future private space explorers who share a lifetime goal of orbital spaceflight or the investment therein. Space Adventures has initially created six "Founding Explorer" positions in the Orbital Mission Explorers Circle, each of whom was intended to have priority access to participate in future orbital space missions.

In 2006, the company announced that it would begin offering a spacewalk option to its clients traveling to the ISS. The spacewalk would allow participants to spend up to 1.5 hours outside the space station and costs about $15 million. It would lengthen the orbital mission approximately six to eight days. The spacewalk would be completed in the Russian designed Orlan space suit. The training for the spacewalk would require an extra month of training on top of the six months already required.[13]

The company, along with Prodea and the Federal Space Agency of Russia, began in the mid-2000s to develop a suborbital space transportation system, called Explorer. The vehicle was to be designed by Myasishchev Design Bureau, a Russian aerospace organization which had developed other aircraft and space systems.

By 2006, the Explorer aerospace system would consist of a flight-operational carrier aircraft, the M-55X, and a rocket spacecraft, having the capability to transport up to five people to space.[20]

Space Adventures abandoned the Explorer project in 2010 because "it got too expensive."[21]

In 2010, Armadillo Aerospace was working on a sub-orbital commercial rocket that was to have been marketed through Space Adventures. The per-passenger price point was announced in April 2010 to be $102,000 for a flight to 62 miles' altitude, above the Karman line.[22]

The Armadillo-developed technology was to have been a vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) suborbital vehicle carrying space tourists to at least 100 kilometers' altitude, with Space Adventures selling the seats. The spacecraft development effort was jointly funded by both Armadillo and Space Adventures.[21]

The project has gone quiescent, as the assets of Armadillo Aerospace were sold to Exos Aerospace in May 2014.[23]