Go Back   Sports Car Forum - MotorWorld.net > Hobbies and Leisure Time > Computers, Consoles, Gadgets And Gizmos



Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-18-2008, 02:59 PM   #1
HeilSvenska
Regular User
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: The OC™
Posts: 4,881
Default Rockwell Int. Space Transport System can be yours for only $42 million

And the engines go for anywhere between $400,000 and $800,000.


Want a retired space shuttle? They're up for grabs


CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA's soon-to-be-retired space shuttles are up for grabs.

The space agency said Wednesday it's looking for ideas on where and how best to display its space shuttles once they stop flying in a few years. It's put out a call to schools, science museums and "other appropriate organizations" that might be interested in showcasing one of the three remaining shuttles.
Beware: NASA estimates it will cost about $42 million to get each shuttle ready and get it where it needs to go, and the final tab could end up much more.

The estimate includes $6 million to ferry the spaceship atop a modified jumbo jet to the closest major airport. But the price could skyrocket depending on how far the display site is from the airport. Only indoor, climate-controlled displays will be considered.

"The orbiters will not be disassembled for transportation or storage," NASA insists in its nine-page request for information.

One space shuttle appears headed to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. The remaining two would be placed in storage at Kennedy Space Center until their final homes are decided.

If a space shuttle is too pricey, NASA is offering some of its shuttle main engines for anywhere between $400,000 and $800,000, not counting shipping costs.

The space shuttles, so you know, will not come with any main engines.

NASA plans to retire Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour by Sept. 30, 2010, in keeping with President George Bush's initiative calling for a return by astronauts to the moon by 2020. A transition team set up by President-elect Barack Obama is reviewing all the options, however, including the possibility of keeping the shuttles flying beyond 2010.

If that happens, then all space shuttle deals are off.

The shuttles' Soviet counterpart, Buran, was destroyed in a hangar collapse back in 2002, 14 years after its only orbital flight. An engineering model is on display at a museum in Germany.
__________________
HeilSvenska is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2008, 03:24 PM   #2
5vz-fe
Regular User
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Toronto
Posts: 6,167
Default

I am sure I can find some better ways to spend 42 million dollars.
__________________
5vz-fe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2008, 03:28 PM   #3
silentm
Regular User
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Basel, CH
Posts: 1,865
Default

well if it comes with the booster rockets and a launch pad, then maybe... just maybe i might make a bid for it
__________________
"Some say that the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring, and that if you give him a really important job to do, he'll skive off and play croquet... all we know is, he's called the Stig."

The Top Gear Wikiquote
silentm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2008, 01:56 AM   #4
10000rpmlover
Regular User
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: the US of A, sometimes also London
Posts: 466
Default

how cool it would be to get one and then turn it into a house? it is big enough to be a house, have you been close to it ever? I have those things are gigantic
__________________

twin turbo, AWD, AWS, 6spd, drop dead gorgeous, what's not to like? mitsubishi should go back and make these again
10000rpmlover is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump