Kennedy Space Center Will Be Ground-Zero for Space Adventures’ Suborbital Spaceflight Program Development
Space Adventures, Ltd., the world’s leading space experiences company, announced today the establishment of a Suborbital Vehicle and Spaceport Development office at the Kennedy Space Center. The office will coordinate the worldwide effort in finalizing the company’s suborbital spaceflight program and will be located at the Center for Space Education building, the home of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation.
“Florida has proudly championed our nation’s space industry from the very beginning, and we are determined to remain a vital player as we enter into this new era of space exploration,” said Governor Jeb Bush. “Floridians recognize the importance of innovative risk-taking on industry development, and we believe that space entrepreneurs like those found at Space Adventures will prove vital to the future of space tourism and related commercial innovations. We are grateful to Space Adventures for the faith they have placed in the Sunshine State as the premier Gateway to Space, and we warmly welcome their presence here.”
“As Space Adventures’ commercial suborbital spaceflight program evolves, we realized the need for a dedicated office to review technical, safety and operational specifications, as well as, financial details for various vehicles and proposed spaceport sites. Ultimately, we’ll be operating suborbital spaceflights from several locations,” said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures. “Space Adventures selected Florida as its program development center because of the state’s rich history and its continued commitment to space exploration.”
Space Adventures is the marketing and experiences operation partner for several of the leading suborbital vehicle manufacturing companies. A suborbital spaceflight with Space Adventures will consist of a detailed four- day flight preparation and training experience.
The highly focused and inspiring pre-flight agenda will familiarize each passenger with the flight program, critical vehicle systems, flight operations, zero-gravity conditions, in-flight accelerations and spaceflight safety procedures. Each flight will be directed by both a skilled pilot and a precise computer controlled system. As each suborbital vehicle reaches their maximum altitude of 62 miles (100km), the rocket engines will shutdown and the passengers will experience up to five minutes of continuous weightlessness, all the while gazing at the blackness of space set against the horizon of Earth.
Those interested in suborbital spaceflight also have the opportunity to join Space Adventures’ SPACEFLIGHT CLUB. The Club serves as the unifying voice of the next generation of space explorers and provides members with the tools, experience and training needed to achieve the goal of spaceflight. With each year of membership, the Club’s annual dues and program purchases will be set aside as credit toward the cost of a suborbital spaceflight. In addition, members will be kept in the forefront of this new and exciting industry via newsletters, conferences and many other members-only benefits.
Space Adventures, the only company to have successfully launched private space explorers to the International Space Station, is headquartered in Arlington, Va. with offices in Moscow and Tokyo. It offers a variety of programs such as Zero-Gravity and MiG flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs and reservations on future suborbital spacecrafts. The company’s advisory board comprises Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, shuttle astronauts Kathy Thornton, Robert (Hoot) Gibson, Charles Walker, Norm Thagard, Sam Durrance, Byron Lichtenberg, Pierre Thuot and Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott. For more information, please visit http://www.spaceadventures.com.
