Dr. Kathuria was a founding director of MirCorp 2000 when it launched the world 's first privately funded manned space program and signed up Dennis Tito to space as Earth 's first space tourist or citizen explorer .
MirCorp is the company that made history on April 4 .
Dr. Kathuria was a founding director of MirCorp , the company that made history on April 4 , 2000 when it launched the world 's first privately funded manned space program and signed up Dennis Tito to space as Earth 's first space tourist or citizen explorer .