Eytan Stibbe | |
|---|---|
| איתן סטיבה | |
 | |
| Born | January 12, 1958 Haifa, Israel |
| Space career | |
| Axiom Space | |
Time in space | 17 days, 1 hour and 49 minutes |
| Missions | Axiom Mission 1 |
Eytan Meir Stibbe is an Israeli former fighter pilot, businessman and commercial astronaut.[1]
In November 2020 he paid Axiom Space to become a space tourist on a ten day mission to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on Axiom Mission 1, a private crewed orbital spaceflight. The stay was extended to 17 days. [2]
Stibbe was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1958 and grew up in the United States until the age of 7, when the family moved back to Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv. His parents immigrated from the Netherlands to Israel in 1953. His father was a soil and water researcher at the Volcani Institute in Rehovot, and his mother was a social worker at a mental health clinic also in Ramat Gan. Stibbe studied at the Blich High School in Ramat Gan and was active in the Israeli Scouts (Tzofim) movement.[3]
In July 1976, Stibbe started the Israeli Air Force’s fighter pilot training course. He first served as a Skyhawk pilot in Squadrons 102 and 140, then moved to Squadron 201 (Phantoms) and continued on to become an F-16 pilot in Squadron 117. During his time in the IAF he was assigned to 117 Squadron flying F-16s under the command of Colonel Ilan Ramon, who later became the first ever Israeli to fly in space aboard STS-107.[2] He completed his military service in 1984 and continued to serve as a reservist in Squadron 117 until 2012. He attained the rank of colonel.
In 1984, after his military service, Stibbe joined a team of advisers at Israel Aircraft Industries that was working on the development of systems for the Lavi.[citation needed] In 1985, he was among the founders of the LR Group, which implemented projects and established infrastructures in developing countries. In 2011, he left LR and sold his share of the company (33%).[citation needed] In 2012, he acquired 35% of Mitrelli, an engineering, procurement and construction company (ECP) whose fields of operation were similar to those of LR.[citation needed] In 2018, Stibbe left Mitrelli and sold all of his shares in the company.[citation needed]
Stibbe established Vital Capital Fund in 2010, the company invests in enterprises whose goal is to improve the economic, personal and social wellbeing of low- and middle-income communities. The fund’s investment strategy is to invest in companies whose intention is to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a competitive financial return.[4]
He is a member of the advisory committee of Bridges Israel, an impact investment fund that invests in Israeli businesses.[citation needed] Stibbe is a partner in HarTech, which develops simulation systems; LISOD, Hospital of Israeli Oncology in Ukraine; Pangea Therapeutics, a digital healthcare company that develops highly personalized cancer medications and treatments based on computational genomics; and Proprep, an online STEM tutorial company.[citation needed]
On 8 April 2022, Stibbe took off for the International Space Station (ISS) from Cape Canaveral as a space tourist. Stibbe is the 583rd space traveler in the world.[5] He became the second Israeli in space, after Ilan Ramon, who died onboard Columbia while returning from space.[6] Stibbe described his space tourism as the “Rakia” mission, which was the title of the book published with the fragments of the diary of his late commander, which survived reentry.[7] He flew to the ISS aboard SpaceX Axiom Space-1, paying for his own ticket to ride.[8] Stibbe was accompanying and demonstrating many Israeli technologies during this mission along with AstroRad a radiation protective vest from StemRad.[9]
