Governor
Bush and Space Adventures Announce the
Opening of a Suborbital Vehicle and Spaceport Development Office
Kennedy Space Center will be ground-zero for
Space Adventures’ suborbital spaceflight program development
Tallahassee, Florida
– July 18, 2005 -- 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 www.spaceadventures.com.
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