Internet entrepreneur will be the first South African to fly to space
and the world’s second privately-funded space explorer

Arlington, VA, April 24, 2002 – Space Adventures’ second orbital client
Mark Shuttleworth will launch tomorrow, April 25, to the International
Space Station (ISS). Shuttleworth and his two crewmates, Russian
commander Yuri Gidzenko and Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, will take
off on a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan,
at 2:26 a.m. EDT, and will spend 10 days in space.

Shuttleworth follows in the footsteps of Space Adventures’ first orbital
space flight client – and the world’s first space tourist – Dennis
Tito, who flew to the ISS in April 2001.

“Space Adventures has been invaluable in supporting me on this long
journey towards the realization of my dreams of space flight. This
flight is a personal challenge and an opportunity to encourage students
in South Africa to embrace mathematics, science and technology,” said
Shuttleworth, 28, a native of Cape Town. While in orbit, Shuttleworth
aims to carry out a series of scientific experiments relevant to South
Africa, including biomedical research on HIV/AIDS.

Shuttleworth signed the contract with the Russian Aviation and Space
Agency (RASA) in December 2001. Space Adventures has been acting as
Shuttleworth’s representative in negotiating his space flight contract
with RASA, and has worked with the various Russian space organizations
to provide comprehensive training, as well as logistical and legal
support for all aspects of his flight. Shuttleworth underwent
approximately eight months of training prior to his flight, including a
one-week orientation program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“We are very excited about Mr. Shuttleworth’s journey and look forward
to making the dream of space flight a reality for more people,” said
Eric Anderson, President and CEO of Space Adventures. Future
opportunities for orbital space tourist flights are available each April
and October through Space Adventures.

Interview opportunities with Space Adventures representatives are
available upon request.

About Space Adventures, Ltd.

Space Adventures, Ltd., the world’s leading space tourism company,
offers a wide range of space experiences, from zero-gravity and
high-altitude supersonic flights, cosmonaut training and space flight
qualification programs on Earth, to actual flights into space. With
offices in Arlington, Va. and Moscow, Space Adventures is developing a
U.S.-based spaceport from which sub-orbital space flights will begin
operations by 2005. For more information about Space Adventures, please
call 1-888-85-SPACE or visit www.spaceadventures.com.

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CONTACT:

Tereza Predescu

Phone: +1 (703) 524-7172