<P> At the end of the 1990s , MirCorp , a private venture that was by then in charge of the space station , began seeking potential space tourists to visit Mir in order to offset some of its maintenance costs . Dennis Tito , an American businessman and former JPL scientist , became their first candidate . When the decision to de-orbit Mir was made , Tito managed to switch his trip to the International Space Station ( ISS ) through a deal between MirCorp and US - based Space Adventures , Ltd. , despite strong opposition from senior figures at NASA ; from the beginning of the ISS expeditions , NASA stated it was n't interested in space guests . Nonetheless , Dennis Tito visited the ISS on April 28 , 2001 , and stayed for seven days , becoming the first `` fee - paying '' space tourist . He was followed in 2002 by South African computer millionaire Mark Shuttleworth . The third was Gregory Olsen in 2005 , who was trained as a scientist and whose company produced specialist high - sensitivity cameras . Olsen planned to use his time on the ISS to conduct a number of experiments , in part to test his company 's products . Olsen had planned an earlier flight , but had to cancel for health reasons . The Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Committee On Science of the House of Representatives held on June 26 , 2001 reveals the shifting attitude of NASA towards paying space tourists wanting to travel to the ISS . The hearing 's purpose was to , `` Review the issues and opportunities for flying nonprofessional astronauts in space , the appropriate government role for supporting the nascent space tourism industry , use of the Shuttle and Space Station for Tourism , safety and training criteria for space tourists , and the potential commercial market for space tourism '' . The subcommittee report was interested in evaluating Dennis Tito 's extensive training and his experience in space as a nonprofessional astronaut . </P>
<P> At the end of the 1990s , MirCorp , a private venture that was by then in charge of the space station , began seeking potential space tourists to visit Mir in order to offset some of its maintenance costs . Dennis Tito , an American businessman and former JPL scientist , became their first candidate . When the decision to de-orbit Mir was made , Tito managed to switch his trip to the International Space Station ( ISS ) through a deal between MirCorp and US - based Space Adventures , Ltd. , despite strong opposition from senior figures at NASA ; from the beginning of the ISS expeditions , NASA stated it was n't interested in space guests . Nonetheless , Dennis Tito visited the ISS on April 28 , 2001 , and stayed for seven days , becoming the first `` fee - paying '' space tourist . He was followed in 2002 by South African computer millionaire Mark Shuttleworth . The third was Gregory Olsen in 2005 , who was trained as a scientist and whose company produced specialist high - sensitivity cameras . Olsen planned to use his time on the ISS to conduct a number of experiments , in part to test his company 's products . Olsen had planned an earlier flight , but had to cancel for health reasons . The Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Committee On Science of the House of Representatives held on June 26 , 2001 reveals the shifting attitude of NASA towards paying space tourists wanting to travel to the ISS . The hearing 's purpose was to , `` Review the issues and opportunities for flying nonprofessional astronauts in space , the appropriate government role for supporting the nascent space tourism industry , use of the Shuttle and Space Station for Tourism , safety and training criteria for space tourists , and the potential commercial market for space tourism '' . The subcommittee report was interested in evaluating Dennis Tito 's extensive training and his experience in space as a nonprofessional astronaut . </P>
when did the first tourist travel into space
when did the first tourist travel into space
April 28 , 2001
April 28 , 2001