Eric C. Anderson

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American entrepreneur and aerospace engineer

title: "Eric C. Anderson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["space-tourism", "space-adventures", "living-people", "columbine-high-school-alumni", "university-of-virginia-school-of-engineering-and-applied-science-alumni", "1974-births"] description: "American entrepreneur and aerospace engineer" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_C._Anderson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American entrepreneur and aerospace engineer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameEric C. Anderson
imageEric-Anderson.jpg
birth_date
nationalityAmerican
educationUniversity of Virginia (BS)
occupationChairman of Space Adventures, Ltd.; CEO of Intentional Software Corporation; Co-Founder of Planetary Power, Inc.
years_active1996–present
height
spouseInessa Anderson
children4
website
::

| name = Eric C. Anderson | image = Eric-Anderson.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = | nationality = American | other_names = | education = University of Virginia (BS) | alma_mater = | occupation = Chairman of Space Adventures, Ltd.; CEO of Intentional Software Corporation; Co-Founder of Planetary Power, Inc. | years_active = 1996–present | employer = | agent = | height = | spouse = Inessa Anderson | children = 4 | parents = | awards = | website =

Eric C. Anderson (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur and aerospace engineer. He is the co-founder and chairman of Space Adventures Ltd., the first commercial spaceflight company, which has arranged for eight missions for privately funded individuals to the International Space Station since 2001. Anderson is widely credited as having established the market for commercial spaceflight. He is also a founding partner of Space Angels Network, CEO of Intentional Software Corporation, co-founder and chairman of Planetary Power, Inc., co-founder and former co-chairman of Planetary Resources and chairman of Personal.com and Booster Fuels.

Early life and education

Anderson was raised in Littleton, Colorado, by his father, an American real estate entrepreneur, and his Argentine mother.

He attended Columbine High School and graduated in 1992. Early in high school, Anderson intended to join the Air Force as a pilot, with the goal of eventually becoming an astronaut. At the university, he began a chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. In 1996, he graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in aerospace engineering and computer science, and first in his class in the university's engineering school.

Career

Early career

In 1994, while Anderson was at the University of Virginia, he interned for the founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, Peter Diamandis, in Washington, D.C. While there he helped organize the Ansari X Prize, a competition for the first private-sector crewed space flight,{{cite news |title=Executive Suite: He's over the moon about space tourism |author=Barbara De Lollis |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2007-10-07-space-adventures-anderson_N.htm |newspaper=USA Today |date=17 October 2007 |accessdate=28 March 2012}} and projects for Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G). The following year, Anderson was selected as Virginia's representative, and one of approximately 24 undergraduates chosen to take part, in the NASA Academy's student summer program. During the program he carried out research at Goddard Space Flight Center and met key individuals involved in the aerospace industry, including several astronauts, then-NASA Administrator Dan Goldin and the CEOs of Lockheed Martin and Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Anderson's first job after graduating was as an engineer and business developer at Analytical Graphics, an aerospace software company based in Philadelphia.

Space Adventures

Foundation

While Anderson was at the NASA Academy program in 1995, he began thinking seriously about space tourism, and in particular decided that NASA would not be able to develop a program that could take civilians into space at a "reasonable cost". In collaboration with Peter Diamandis, with whom Anderson had interned in 1994, and adventure travel operator Mike McDowell, Anderson developed the initial idea to create a space tourism company, Space Adventures.

He co-founded Space Adventures with Diamandis and McDowell in 1997, initially funded by $250,000 raised from Diamandis, McDowell and other investors. Anderson became the company's founding director

Development of the business

Anderson initially arranged for clients to experience flights to "the edge of space" in MiG-25 fighter jets, the first time a private citizen had paid to fly to orbit.

Commercial market for space travel

In his work with Space Adventures, Anderson has been widely credited as the first to monetize spaceflight and demonstrate the viability of a commercial market for space travel, by proving there is demand for space tourism.

Anderson has stated that he sees tourism as a catalyst for the commercialization of space through encouraging development of cheaper transportation into space, which will eventually allow humanity to develop and colonize space, including the development of natural resources beyond earth. In an interview with Smart CEO, he said that he believes that it is "imperative" to explore space for humanity's long-term survival.

Other roles

In addition to his role as chairman of Space Adventures, Anderson holds a number of other professional positions. He is the chairman of Planetary Power, Inc., a renewable energy company he co-founded in 2007, which focuses on developing affordable renewable energy technology. Anderson is also the president and CEO of Intentional Software Corporation, a software development company founded by Charles Simonyi that develops solutions to make creating applications more intuitive and accessible to people who are not experienced in computer programming. Later that year, on December 15, 2010, he was chosen as the next chairman of the board of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an organization that promotes the development of the commercial spaceflight industry. Anderson is also the co-founder and former co-chairman of Planetary Resources, Inc., a 2010s company that developed technology with the aim of carrying out exploration of asteroids and mining them for resources including platinum and other precious metals.

Speaking appearances and writing

Anderson has appeared as a guest speaker and lecturer at conferences including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Forbes Global CEO Conference, He has also contributed to two books, Kids Who Think Outside the Box by Stephanie Lerner and The Space Tourist’s Handbook, a guide to space tourism that he co-authored.

Philanthropy and organizations

Anderson is a board member of the X Prize Foundation, and a founder of the Planetary Security Foundation, He is also a trustee of the Koshka Foundation and Seattle's Museum of Flight and a member of the Board of Governors for the National Space Society.

In 2008, he became a member of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.

Honors and awards

Anderson has received a number of awards and honors during his career. In 1996, he was named by USA Today as one of its US Top 40 University Graduates. the National Space Society and Space Tourism Society’s ORBIT Award and the World Technology Network’s "World Technology Award" in its space category. In 2010 he was named one of Ernst & Young's entrepreneurs of the year.

Personal life

Anderson lives in Bellevue, Washington with his wife Inessa and their four children.

References

References

  1. Michael Belfiore. (March 2012). "Extraterrestrial Outfitter". Smithsonian Media.
  2. Roger Hughlett. (14 September 2004). "Eric Anderson, Star-struck". Washington Business Journal.
  3. James M. Clash. (9 May 2005). "Space Cowboy".
  4. (May 2008). "Escape Velocity". Washington Smart CEO.
  5. (29 October 2010). "Executive Profile Eric Anderson Co-founder and chairman, Space Adventures Ltd.". Washington Business Journal.
  6. John Schwartz. (18 February 2006). "More Enter Race to Offer Space Tours". The New York Times.
  7. "Our Team". Planetary Power, Inc..
  8. (15 December 2010). "Commercial Spaceflight Federation Elects Eric C. Anderson as Next Chairman". Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
  9. "Team". Planetary Resources.
  10. Michael Belfiore. (24 April 2012). "Billionaires Aim to Make Trillions Mining Asteroids". Popular Mechanics.
  11. Jamie Keene. (24 April 2012). "Larry, Page, Eric Schmidt, and James Cameron will begin space mining operations by 2011, details later today". The Verge.
  12. Stephanie Lerner. (2005). "Kids Who Think Outside the Box". AMACOM.
  13. (14 October 2005). "Five-star guide to the galaxy". Daily Telegraph.
  14. "Eric Anderson". World Economic Forum.
  15. "Board of Trustees". X Prize Foundation.
  16. (January 2026). "Home". Planetary Security Foundation.
  17. "Koschka Foundation About Us". Koshka Foundation.
  18. "National Space Society Board of Governors". National Space Society.
  19. (11 March 2008). "World Economic Forum Announces Eric Anderson as a 2008 Young Global Leader". Space Adventures.
  20. "Eric Anderson". Space Adventures.
  21. (4 May 2006). "Eric Anderson of Space Adventures Receives 'Space Tourism Leadership' Orbit Award". Space Adventures.
  22. "Previous winners". The World Technology Network.

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space-tourismspace-adventuresliving-peoplecolumbine-high-school-alumniuniversity-of-virginia-school-of-engineering-and-applied-science-alumni1974-births