Description
WHO WE ARE
Space Adventures, Ltd. is the world’s leading space experiences company founded in 1998 by a team of aerospace and adventure travel experts.
A privately-owned company, headquartered in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area with offices in Moscow, Tokyo and Cape Canaveral, Fla., with over 50 authorized agents worldwide
Our goal is to open the space frontier and to promote private space exploration by building a series of successful, privately funded spaceflight missions
Our offerings include a variety of space experiences such as Zero-Gravity flights, cosmonaut training and actual spaceflights
The company pioneered space tourism by assisting the world’s first private explorers, Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Ph.D. and Anousheh Ansari, realize their dream of spaceflight
In 2005, the company announced the availability of a commercial spaceflight to the far side of the moon
WHAT WE DO
SPACEFLIGHT TRAINING PROGRAMS
Orbital Pre-Qualification Program (OPQ): Officially certified by the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA), this two-week program features space training experiences such as Zero-Gravity flights, centrifuge run, neutral buoyancy session, and a series of medical tests. Each completed experience is a progressive step in seeking spaceflight certification.
Spaceflight Training Experiences: Individuals can float weightless on a parabolic Zero-Gravity flight; simulate spacewalks in an authentic space suit, and more. These experiences are performed in Star City, the same professional training facilities where Russian cosmonauts, astronauts and military pilots perform their own training.
SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAMS
Suborbital Spaceflight Program: Suborbital spaceflights are 90 minute flights onboard the Explorer suborbital space transportation system, where, rocket motors boost passengers 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. As the vehicle reaches the maximum altitude, the rocket engines will shut down and participants experience up to five minutes of continuous weightlessness, all the while gazing at the vast blackness of space and the blue horizon of the Earth below. Before each spaceflight, passengers will complete a detailed four-day flight preparation and training experience, becoming familiar with the flight program and operations, critical vehicle systems, zero-gravity conditions and spaceflight safety procedures. Space Adventures has over 200 reservations for future suborbital spaceflights and has announced spaceport locations in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, with plans to expand globally.
Orbital Spaceflight Program: Through our long-standing partnership with FSA, Space Adventures is the only company in the world to offer commercial seats en route to the International Space Station (ISS). Orbital candidates train at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, familiarizing themselves with the Soyuz TMA, performing mock launch and re-entry simulations, learning how to live and operate aboard the ISS and conducting other mission-specific training exercises. Once participants are flight certified, they launch to the ISS from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Each client spends eight days aboard the space station where they orbit the Earth at approximately 26,720 kilometers per hour.
Deep Space Expeditions: DSE-Alpha is the first in a series of missions to be featured in Space Adventures' Deep Space Expeditions (DSE) program, in cooperation with FSA and the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. The circumlunar mission will utilize the robust Soyuz spacecraft, piloted by a Russian cosmonaut, and will give travelers the opportunity to experience weightlessness, view the Earth from 250,000 and experience a close-up view of the moon. Before the mission is flown, the required research and development, spacecraft modifications, as well as, the required manned and unmanned test flights will have been completed. DSE-Alpha could launch as early as 2011.
WORLD’S FIRST SPACE TOURISTS
Dennis Tito: Space Adventures’ first orbital spaceflight client and the world’s first private space explorer launched to the ISS in 2001. American businessman Dennis Tito received comprehensive training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. His participation in Space Adventures’ other programs, including a Zero-Gravity flight, centrifuge training and the supersonic jet flight to the Edge of Space, is what ultimately inspired him to take the final step. “When I reached 2.5 times the speed of sound and saw the curvature of the Earth below and the dark sky above, I knew I wanted to keep on going,” said Tito after completing his flight in a MiG25, the world’s fastest and highest flying operational aircraft.
Mark Shuttleworth: ‘First African in Space’ Mark Shuttleworth and his two crewmates, Russian commander Yuri Gidzenko and Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori spent 10 days in space. They took off on a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on April 25, 2002. Prior to his flight, Mr. 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 required. “Space Adventures has been invaluable in supporting me on this long journey towards the realization of my dream of spaceflight. This flight is a personal
challenge and adventure, and it’s an opportunity to encourage students in South Africa to embrace mathematics, science and technology,” said Mr. Shuttleworth.
Greg Olsen: Space Adventures’ third orbital spaceflight client is from Princeton, New Jersey. Dr. Olsen completed over 900 hours of training in Star City, Russia in preparation for his mission. 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 was also able to connect with high school students in New Jersey and New York via HAM radio signal to discuss his experiences while in orbit. “The experience was more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. I have a newfound sense of wonder seeing the Earth and stars from such an incredible perspective. It was an unforgettable experience that I am truly grateful for and will relive in my mind for the rest of my life,” said Dr. Olsen.
Anousheh Ansari: Space Adventures’ fourth orbital spaceflight client launched to the ISS on September 18, 2006 along with Expedition 14 crew members: NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin. She has been a life-long enthusiast for space travel and is the world's first female private space explorer. Mrs. Ansari saw her as a Space Ambassador: acting as a messenger to create public awareness and stimulate grassroots enthusiasm about the virtues of space exploration; inspiring youth, and especially girls, around the world to pursue their dreams; and, promoting peace and understanding amongst nations.
BEYOND SPACE TOURISM
Space Adventures vision stretches far beyond space tourism. Our goal is to benefit not only the private citizens who fly to space, but also the international space program as a whole. Reusable launch vehicle technology initially developed for space tourism will spawn a new generation of space transportation vehicles for the next century. As profits from suborbital and orbital tourist flights are reinvested in new technology, we will achieve more reliable, affordable and safer access to space. This, in turn, will open the frontier for rapid intercontinental air transportation, improve satellite launches, facilitate the development of private orbiting space stations and overall, positively impact the global economy.