Space Adventures

Space Adventures (USA, founded 1998) is a space tourism company best known for arranging orbital trips for private individuals to the International Space Station. In the 2000s, Space Adventures facilitated eight private missions to the ISS, working with the Russian space agency to use Soyuz spacecraft seats for wealthy clients (like Dennis Tito, the first private space tourist in 2001). The company has also offered other experiences, such as zero-gravity flights, cosmonaut training, and plans for future lunar orbit trips (which have not yet come to fruition). While Space Adventures does not build spacecraft, it was a pioneer in opening up orbital spaceflight experiences to non-professional astronauts through partnerships. Its activities demonstrated an early market for space tourism at the orbital level, paving the way for the current era of commercial human spaceflight.