SAN FRANCISCO – Spaceflight training startup Orbite has raised $4 million to expand its business, which combines astronaut training with luxury vacations.

After raising $4 million in a Series A funding round, Seattle-based Orbite unveiled its Experience Train Fly Program.

“We’re opening it up to the general public, engaging in a digital marketing campaign and inviting people to experience astronaut training,” Jason Andrews, Orbite CEO and co-founder, told SpaceNews.

Since Orbite was founded in 2019, the company has offered astronaut orientation programs in France and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Future orientation programs are planned for the Middle East, Antarctica and the Caribbean.

Orbit’s early pilot projects revealed demand for elements of astronaut training as part of a luxury vacation. It’s “a lighter-touch way to explore the New Space economy,” Andrews said. The package is likely to appeal, for example, to the “millions of people watching Starship test flights,” he added.

With the latest investment, Orbite intends to fund early development of its planned Spaceflight Gateway campus in Florida.

Brienna Rommes, chief astronaut trainer, guides astronaut orientation participants through a presentation on spaceflight. Credit: Magali Maricot

Partnership with Accor

Orbite announced a partnership Dec. 5 with French hospitality group Accor to develop and operate the original Spaceflight Gateway campus in Florida.

“We have designed the perfect setup down to a detailed blueprint,” said Nicolas Gaume, Orbite co-founder and executive chairman. “Having our own facility will help us go to the next level. Our partners including Accor are very supportive of establishing that facility.”

Spaceflight Training and Flight

Through Experience Train Fly, customers can learn what it’s like to train for space or live in space. Experiences include voyages underwater in small submersibles and stays in a moon or Mars analog environments in remote locations.

In addition, Orbite is working with spaceflight operators to establish mission packages.

“We have a pipeline of thousands of people interested in experiencing space to hundreds who might train to a handful today that might fly,” Andrews said.

Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She...