Huntsville, AL, and Arlington, VA (March 6, 2003) – For many of the thousands of youngsters who attend U.S. Space Camp each year, venturing into space is just a dream. But now, the dream is within reach thanks to a new partnership between Space Camp and Space Adventures, Ltd., the world’s leading space tourism and exploration company. The two organizations will work together on a number of initiatives, including joint marketing and co-sponsored events, Space Camp alumni benefits and exclusive tours.
In addition to enabling more young space enthusiasts to experience Space Camp, the partnership will provide Space Camp alumni with unique benefits that bring them closer to the next frontier through Space Adventures’ experiences. Space Camp alumni are eligible for discounts on Space Adventures’ terrestrial tours, zero-gravity and supersonic jet flights, and sub-orbital space flights.
“We’re all very excited about our new partnership with Space Adventures,” said U.S. Space & Rocket Center CEO Larry Capps. “For years, we’ve been trying to explain what weightlessness feels like, what it’s like to slip through the layers of the atmosphere. Now, our students who want to take their training to the next level can experience all that for themselves,” he added.
“Space Camp alumni will now have an opportunity to further their childhood dreams by participating in real space experiences and even flying to space,” said Space Adventures President and CEO Eric Anderson. “A partnership between Space Adventures, the world’s leading space tourism company, and Space Camp, whose educational space experiences for youth are world-famous, was only natural. Both organizations share the same vision.”
Space Adventures will offer Space Camp alumni many authentic space experiences to choose from. Participants can float weightless like astronauts in space during a zero-gravity flight, view the Earth from above 99% of its atmosphere in a supersonic high-altitude jet, simulate an entire space mission in a real spacecraft, and more, in the same facilities where actual astronauts undergo their training. And for Space Camp alumni who actually want to fly in space, they can reserve their seat on a future sub-orbital space flight, scheduled to launch sometime in 2005.
About U.S. Space Camp & Aviation Challenge
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, located in Huntsville, Alabama where the U.S. space program first began, houses the largest youth camp operation in the nation. U.S. Space Camp, now in it’s 21st year, has graduated well over 400,000 students of all age groups through its various programs. Our students spend a week training as an astronaut before flying their simulated shuttle missions. Its sister program, Aviation Challenge, where students train as a military fighter pilot, is rapidly gaining in popularity for its no nonsense approach to teamwork, military survival training and aviation training. For more information, visit www.spacecamp.com, or call 1-800-63-SPACE.
About Space Adventures
Space Adventures, Ltd., the world’s leading space tourism company, offers a wide range of space experiences, from zero-gravity and Edge of Space flights, cosmonaut training and space flight qualification programs, to actual flights into space. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, and with an office in Moscow, Russia, Space Adventures is the only company to successfully launch private individuals to the International Space Station. For more information, visit www.spaceadventures.com or call 1-703-524-7172.
