[FPSPACE] Shuttles, when retired, are up for sale...

[Peter Pesavento]

Very sad echoes of what happened with artifacts from the Buran program..and
this is the US program !!!

 

I guess this is the sad end of the manned shuttle exploration chapter...

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081218/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle

 

 

 

 

 

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

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn, Ap Aerospace Writer Thu Dec
18, 3:24 am ET 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - 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.

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