Eytan Stibbe

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]

Stibbe, right, during his military service

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. 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%). In 2012, he acquired 35% of Mitrelli, an engineering, procurement and construction company (ECP) whose fields of operation were similar to those of LR. In 2018, Stibbe left Mitrelli and sold all of his shares in the company.

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. 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.

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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eytan Stibbe.

SpaceX Axiom Space-1 spacetravellers

• Larry Connor (mission pilot)
• Mark Pathy (mission specialist)
• Michael López-Alegría (mission commander)