Eric Anderson is one of the leading entrepreneurs in the space industry. He has led the development of commercial human spaceflight and the space tourism industry since its inception. Mr. Anderson’s vision is to open the space frontier to all private citizens which will then enable the procurement and development of space-based resources for the benefit of humanity.
Mr. Anderson co-founded Space Adventures in 1998 and serves as the company’s Chairman. Space Adventures is the only company that provides opportunities to the world’s marketplace to experience space. The company offers a spectrum of products, at various price points, ranging from weightless flights, to a proposed historic return to the Moon, flights to the edge of space and orbital flights to the International Space Station.
In the course of twelve years, Mr. Anderson has sold more than $250 million (USD) in spaceflights. Space Adventures has facilitated the missions of all the self-funded private space explorers, including Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott and Guy Laliberté. Charles Simonyi is the company’s first repeat client.
Previously, Mr. Anderson was the principal and co-founder of Starport.com, later sold to SPACE.com in 2000. Mr. Anderson was also lead engineer and business development lead for aerospace software firm Analytical Graphics, Inc., and has held various consulting and research positions with NASA. In 2005, Mr. Anderson co-authored the “Space Tourist’s Handbook,” published with bestselling author Joshua Piven.
In 1996, Mr. Anderson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Virginia with a degree in aerospace engineering. Ten years later, he received the University of Virginia Engineering Foundation Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate Award.
He is 35 years old and lives in Vienna, Virginia with his wife and their children. Mr. Anderson is a Board Member of the X Prize Foundation and the Koshka Foundation. He is also a founder of the Planetary Security Foundation. Mr. Anderson has been an active member of Young Presidents Organization and in 2008, he was chosen by the World Economic Forum to become a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.