Dennis Tito became the first space tourist when he visited the International Space Station in 2001.
Tito, an American engineer and multimillionaire, traveled aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft launched on April 28, 2001. He joined the Expedition 2 crew at the station and spent almost eight days in orbit before returning to Earth.
His trip was arranged through Space Adventures and Russia’s space program. NASA initially expressed reservations about allowing a paying visitor to enter the station, but Tito completed safety training and was accepted for the flight.
The term “space tourist” distinguishes a privately funded visitor from a professional government astronaut. Tito had previously worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but he flew to the station as a private participant rather than as a career astronaut.