(RKA) for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew. The term serves to distinguish tourists and other special travelers from the career
, it has also been used for participants in NASA's Teacher in Space program and for people who flew through inter-government agreements such as the Angkasawan program and the
Other terms used for space travelers who are not career astronauts include NASA's
countries. Most of these people received full training for their missions and were treated as equals, but especially after the Mir program began, were generally given shorter flights than Soviet cosmonauts. The
The U.S.
positions which were usually filled by representatives of companies or institutions managing a specific payload on that mission. These payload specialists did not receive the same level of training as career NASA astronauts and were not employed by NASA, so they were essentially private astronauts.
In the early days of the Shuttle program, NASA was also eager to prove its capability to Congressional sponsors, and Senator
As the Shuttle program expanded, the Teacher in Space program was developed as a way to expand publicity and educational opportunities for NASA.
would have been the first Teacher in Space, but she was killed in the Challenger disaster and the program was canceled. During the same period a Journalist in Space program was frequently discussed, with individuals such as
economy in Russia, its space industry was especially starved for cash. The
(TBS) offered to pay for one of its reporters to fly on a mission. For $28 million,
with the eighth crew and returned a week later with the seventh crew. Akiyama gave a daily TV-broadcast from orbit and also performed scientific experiments for Russian and Japanese companies.
Since then, the Russian Federal Space Agency has also sold seats to a consortium of British companies for
, to seven self-funded space tourists, to the Malaysian government as part of a contract to sell military planes, and to the South Korean government as part of the
| Name | Nationality | Program/Sponsor | Flight | Date | Comments |
Christa McAuliffeChrista McAuliffe was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster....
|
 United States |
Teacher in Space Project The Teacher in Space Project was a NASA program announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration....
|
STS-51-LSTS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
|
28 January 1986 |
Killed alongside six fellow crew members in the Space Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
. Back-up was Barbara MorganBarbara Radding Morgan is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She participated in the Teacher in Space program as the backup to Christa McAuliffe for the ill-fated STS-51L mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. She then trained as a Mission Specialist, and flew on STS-118 in August 2007...
, who was selected in 1998 to train as a Mission SpecialistA Mission Specialist is a position held by certain NASA astronauts during Space Shuttle missions. A Mission Specialist is assigned to a limited field of the mission, such as for medical experiments or technical quests....
. Morgan finally flew to space aboard STS-118- Crew notes :Astronaut Clayton Anderson originally was slated to be launched to the ISS on this mission, but was moved to STS-117. His replacement was Alvin Drew....
in 2007, but as a "teacher-turned-astronaut", not a spaceflight participant. |
| Dennis Tito Dennis Anthony Tito is an Italian American engineer and multimillionaire, most widely known as the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space. In mid-2001, he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station...
|
United States |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TM-32 Soyuz TM-32 was a manned Russian spacecraft which was launched on April 28, 2001, and docked with the International Space Station two days later. It launched the crew of the visiting mission ISS EP-1, which included the first paying space tourist Dennis Tito, as well as two Russian cosmonauts...
/ Soyuz TM-31Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station . Launched near the end of 2000 the Soyuz-TM spacecraft brought to ISS Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew...
|
April 28 - May 6, 2001 |
First space tourist |
Mark ShuttleworthMark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
|
 South Africa |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TM-34 Soyuz TM-34 was the fourth Soyuz mission to the International Space Station . Soyuz TM-34 was launched by a Soyuz-U launch vehicle.-Crew:-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: April 27, 2002, 07:55 UTC...
/ Soyuz TM-33Soyuz TM-33 was a manned Russian space launch on Oct 21, 2001, on the Soyuz-U launch vehicle. Its mission was to carry a new crew and supplies to the International Space Station.-Crew:-Docking with ISS:...
|
April 25 - May 5, 2002 |
Shuttleworth was the first person with South African citizenship to fly in space. |
| Lance Bass James Lance Bass , best known as Lance Bass, is an American pop singer, dancer, actor, film and television producer, and author. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band 'N Sync. 'N Sync's success led Bass to work in film and television...
|
United States |
Corporate-funded space tourist |
|
|
Completed training but seat on Soyuz TMA-1-Mission parameters:*Mass: 7,220 kg , gross *Perigee: 193 km *Apogee: 235 km *Inclination: 51.6° *Period: 88.7 minutes-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: November 1, 2002, 05:01 UTC...
in 2002 was cancelled after funding fell through. |
Gregory OlsenGregory Hammond "Greg" Olsen is an American entrepreneur, engineer and scientist who, in October 2005, became the third private citizen to make a self-funded trip to the International Space Station with the company Space Adventures....
|
United States |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TMA-7Soyuz TMA-7 was a transport mission for portions of the International Space Station Expedition 12 crew launched October 1, 2005. The flight delivered ISS Commander William McArthur and ISS Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev to the station to replace Expedition 11 crew members...
/ Soyuz TMA-6Soyuz TMA-6 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station launched by a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle.-Crew:-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: April 17, 2005, 02:20 UTC...
|
October 1–11, 2005 |
|
| Daisuke Enomoto is a Japanese businessman and former livedoor executive who hoped to become the fourth space tourist. He had trained at Star City, Moscow in Russia to fly with two members of Expedition 14 on board Soyuz TMA-9, which was launched on September 18, 2006....
|
 Japan |
Self-funded space tourist |
|
|
Expected to fly on Soyuz TMA-9-Crew notes:Daisuke Enomoto Was originally scheduled to be the spaceflight participant, but on on 21 August 2006, he was determined to be unfit for the flight due to medical reasons, and replaced by Anousheh Ansari, his back-up crew member.-Docking with ISS:...
in September 2006, but was grounded for medical reasons and seat was given to Ansari. |
Anousheh AnsariAnousheh Ansari is an engineer and the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. . The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X Prize. On September 18, 2006,...
|
 Iran /
United States |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TMA-9-Crew notes:Daisuke Enomoto Was originally scheduled to be the spaceflight participant, but on on 21 August 2006, he was determined to be unfit for the flight due to medical reasons, and replaced by Anousheh Ansari, his back-up crew member.-Docking with ISS:...
/ Soyuz TMA-8-Back-up crew:-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: April 1, 2006, 04:19 UTC *Undocked from ISS: September 28, 2006, 21:53 UTC -Mission highlights:29th manned flight to ISS...
|
September 18–29, 2006 |
Trained as back-up to Enomoto. Was the first person with Iranian citizenship to fly in space. |
Charles SimonyiCharles Simonyi is a Hungarian-American computer software executive who, as head of Microsoft's application software group, oversaw the creation of Microsoft's flagship Office suite of applications. He now heads his own company, Intentional Software, with the aim of developing and marketing his...
|
 Hungary /
United States |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TMA-10Soyuz TMA-10 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 17:31:09 UTC on April 7, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
/ Soyuz TMA-9-Crew notes:Daisuke Enomoto Was originally scheduled to be the spaceflight participant, but on on 21 August 2006, he was determined to be unfit for the flight due to medical reasons, and replaced by Anousheh Ansari, his back-up crew member.-Docking with ISS:...
|
April 7–21, 2007 |
|
Sheikh Muszaphar ShukorSheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Malaysian orthopaedic surgeon and was the first Malaysian to go into space. He was launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on October 10, 2007...
|
 Malaysia |
Angkasawan program |
Soyuz TMA-11Soyuz TMA-11 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 13:22 UTC on October 10, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
/ Soyuz TMA-10Soyuz TMA-10 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 17:31:09 UTC on April 7, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
|
10–21 October 2007 |
Back-up was Faiz Khaleed Faiz bin Khaleed is a Malaysian military dentist with the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces. In September 2006, he was selected as one of two final candidates to undergo astronaut training in Star City as part of the Angkasawan program. The other candidate was Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.Faiz received his...
. |
Yi So-yeonYi So-yeon is a South Korean scientist and Ph.D. graduate of KAIST . On April 8, 2008, she became the first Korean and the second Asian woman to fly in space, after Chiaki Mukai.-Biography:Yi So-yeon was born to father Yi Gil-soo...
|
|
Korean Astronaut ProgramThe Korean Astronaut Program was an initiative by the South Korean government to send the first Korean into space via the Russian space program.-Program overview:...
|
Soyuz TMA-12Soyuz TMA-12 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station which was launched by a Soyuz FG rocket at 11:16 UTC on 8 April 2008. It docked to the Pirs module of the station on 10 April 2008. Landing occurred at 03:37 on 24 October...
/ Soyuz TMA-11Soyuz TMA-11 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 13:22 UTC on October 10, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
|
8–19 April 2008 |
Back-up was Ko SanKo San is a South Korean researcher at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.Ko was born in Busan. His father died when he was a boy, and his mother raised Ko and his sister. A graduate of Hanyoung Foreign Language High School, Ko went on to study mathematics at Seoul National University...
. |
Richard GarriottRichard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
|
United States |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TMA-13Soyuz TMA-13 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station . The spacecraft was launched by a Soyuz-FG rocket at 07:01 GMT on 12 October 2008. It undocked at 02:55 GMT on 8 April 2009, performed a deorbit burn at 06:24, and landed at 07:16...
/ Soyuz TMA-12Soyuz TMA-12 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station which was launched by a Soyuz FG rocket at 11:16 UTC on 8 April 2008. It docked to the Pirs module of the station on 10 April 2008. Landing occurred at 03:37 on 24 October...
|
12 October 2008 - 23 October 2008 |
Back-up was Nik Halik Nik Halik , is the founder and C.E.O. of Financial Freedom Institute, Lifestyle Revolution, LLC, Money Masters Global, The Thrillionaires and co-founder of iCoach Global...
. |
Charles SimonyiCharles Simonyi is a Hungarian-American computer software executive who, as head of Microsoft's application software group, oversaw the creation of Microsoft's flagship Office suite of applications. He now heads his own company, Intentional Software, with the aim of developing and marketing his...
|
Hungary /
United States |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TMA-14 The Soyuz TMA-14 was a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station, which launched on 26 March 2009. It transported two members of the Expedition 19 crew as well as spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on his second self-funded flight to the space station...
/ Soyuz TMA-13Soyuz TMA-13 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station . The spacecraft was launched by a Soyuz-FG rocket at 07:01 GMT on 12 October 2008. It undocked at 02:55 GMT on 8 April 2009, performed a deorbit burn at 06:24, and landed at 07:16...
|
26 March 2009 - 8 April 2009 |
Backup was Esther DysonEsther Dyson is a former journalist and Wall Street technology analyst who is a leading angel investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and commentator focused on breakthrough innovation in healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space...
. Simonyi was the first repeat space tourist. |
| Guy Laliberté Guy Laliberté, OC, CQ is a Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, poker player, space tourist and the current CEO of Cirque du Soleil...
|
 Canada |
Self-funded space tourist |
Soyuz TMA-16 The Soyuz TMA-16 was a manned flight to and from the International Space Station . It transported two members of the Expedition 21 crew and a Canadian entrepreneur from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS. TMA-16 was the 103rd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching...
/ Soyuz TMA-14The Soyuz TMA-14 was a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station, which launched on 26 March 2009. It transported two members of the Expedition 19 crew as well as spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on his second self-funded flight to the space station...
|
30 September 2009 - 11 October 2009 |
First Canadian space tourist. Backup was Barbara BarrettBarbara Barrett is President and CEO of Triple Creek Guest Ranch, a Montana Hideaway.Until January 2009, Barrett was U.S. Ambassador to Finland. Prior to Finland she served on the corporate boards of Raytheon, Exponent and The Mayo Clinic, and was a Trustee of Aerospace Corporation and Thunderbird...
|
| Upcoming |
| Vladimir Gruzdev Vladimir Sergeyevich Gruzdev is a Russian politician, the governor of Tula Oblast., businessman and explorer.Vladimir Gruzdev was born in 1967 in Bolshevo, Moscow oblast, to a military officer and a teacher...
|
 Russia |
Political party-sponsored trip |
|
|
Was expected to fly in 2009. The United RussiaUnited Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
political party may pay the estimated $25 million for the flight from the party funds. |
While not labeled as "spaceflight participants", the following people participated in spaceflight missions under the auspices of special programs outside of the professional astronaut corps.
| Name | Nationality | Program/Sponsor | Flight | Date | Comments |
Jake GarnEdwin Jacob "Jake" Garn is an American politician, a member of the Republican Party, and served as a U.S. Senator representing Utah from 1974 to 1993...
|
United States |
US Government |
STS-51-DSTS-51-D was the sixteenth flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center , Florida, on 12 April 1985 was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster recovery zone...
|
12–19 April 1985 |
To demonstrate the capabilities of the Space Shuttle, NASA offered a seat to Garn, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. |
Bill NelsonClarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
|
United States |
US Government |
STS-61-C-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter liftoff: **Orbiter landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 91.2 min-Mission background:...
|
12–18 January 1986 |
NASA also provided a seat to Nelson, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was originally scheduled to be aboard STS-51-LSTS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
. |
| Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. |
United States |
US Government |
STS-62-A STS-62-A was a planned Space Shuttle mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload into polar orbit. It was expected to use Discovery. It would have been the first manned launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California...
|
|
NASA assigned a seat to Aldridge, the Secretary of the Air Force, on mission STS-62-A, the first Shuttle mission scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. After the Challenger disaster, the mission was cancelled and Aldridge never flew. |
| Toyohiro Akiyama is a Japanese TV journalist best known for his flight to the Mir space station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 1990. Akiyama is the first person of Japanese descent to have flown in space. He was known as the "Space Journalist" in Japan....
|
Japan |
Tokyo Broadcasting System, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
|
Soyuz TM-11-Mission highlights:Soyuz TM-11 was launched the same day as STS-35.11th expedition to Mir. Toyohiro Akiyama was a reporter/space tourist for a Japanese television network....
/ Soyuz TM-10-Mission highlights:TM-10 marked the return to earth of Japanese reporter Toyohiro Akiyama.The Soyuz arrived at Mir's aft port with four passengers: quail for cages in Kvant-2. A quail had laid an egg en route to the station. It was returned to Earth, along with 130 kg of experiment results...
|
2–10 December 1990 |
As an employee of TBS, Akiyama could be considered the first space business traveler. |
Helen SharmanHelen Patricia Sharman, OBE PhD , is a British chemist. She was the first Briton in space, visiting the Mir space station aboard Soyuz TM-12 in 1991....
|
 United Kingdom |
Project Juno Project Juno was a private British space programme, which selected Helen Sharman to be the first Briton in space.As the United Kingdom has never had a human spaceflight programme, a private consortium was formed to raise money to pay the USSR for a seat on a Soyuz mission to the Mir space station...
|
Soyuz TM-12-Mission highlights:12th expedition to Mir. Included first Briton in space.The Derbents welcomed aboard Mir Anatoli Artsebarski, Sergei Krikalev , and British cosmonaut-researcher Helen Sharman, who was aboard as part of Project Juno, a cooperative venture partly sponsored by British private...
/ Soyuz TM-11-Mission highlights:Soyuz TM-11 was launched the same day as STS-35.11th expedition to Mir. Toyohiro Akiyama was a reporter/space tourist for a Japanese television network....
|
18–26 May 1991 |
Through Project Juno, a consortium of British companies partially funded a seat on a Soyuz flight to Mir (the Soviet Union covered the rest of the cost) in order to put the first Briton into space. |