SpaceVIP founder sells $50M private ISS trips to the ultra-rich

Roman Chiporukha, co-owner of luxury lifestyle firm Roman & Erica, spent two decades arranging superyachts and NDA-bound Bahamas vacations for the ultra-wealthy. That reputation earned him a call from Axiom Space in 2018, which wanted three citizen explorers willing to pay $50 million each for the first fully private mission to the International Space Station. Chiporukha signed them up, then launched SpaceVIP in 2021 to build a digital portal for commercial space adventure bookings—acting as a bridge between dreamers and strict aerospace parameters.

SpaceVIP works with Axiom for multiday ISS stays, and with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic for suborbital flights, zero-gravity parabolic rides, or six-hour stratospheric balloon voyages 15 miles above Earth, priced at a few hundred thousand dollars. While only an exclusive roster gets custom itineraries, Chiporukha cofounded the Space Prize Foundation to run competitions for young women and underrepresented STEM groups, awarding zero-gravity flights and astronaut training. His goal: make space mainstream not just by cutting ticket costs, but by opening pathways into the industry.