NASA selling Space Shuttles

[HCT]

It could be the ultimate Christmas present for anyone who can afford the stellar price tag: Nasa has announced plans to sell off its space shuttles when they stop flying in 2010, at a cost of at least $42m (£27m) apiece – postage and packing included.

Selling its remaining shuttles would bring in much-needed dollars to the hard-up American space agency, which is already facing a budget deficit for the next-generation Ares rockets that it is planned will return astronauts to the moon.

The advertised price is just the starting figure for any one of the orbiters Discovery, Atlantis or Endeavour, which between them have flown 86 missions into space since 1984. Included is the minimum $6m cost of stripping a shuttle of toxic and other hazardous materials, preparing it for travel and flying it to an airport of the buyer's choosing.

As an agency of the US government, Nasa insists it won't be selling its most prized assets to just anybody. So far, it is approaching only educational institutions, science museums and "other appropriate organisations" to gauge interest and assess the size of their chequebooks.

"Nasa is keenly aware of the essential value of these key assets to the space programme's rich history," an official says in a "request for information" document that seeks ideas for the public display of the shuttles after their retirement.

"The agency is therefore committed to making placement decisions that are determined to be in the best interest of the American taxpayer. Special attention will be paid to ensuring they will retire to appropriate places."

Only US citizens will be eligible to purchase and display the shuttles, which will be sold with all space-worthy fittings and fixtures except the main engines. Interested parties must promise to display the spacecraft in a climate-controlled indoor location.

Six main shuttle engines will be available for separate purchase for up to $800,000 each, excluding transport costs.

Previously, Nasa has donated historically important space hardware for free. Saturn rockets, lunar modules and other artifacts from the Apollo era are on display at various locations including the Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Washington DC, and the US Space and Rocket Centre, in Alabama.

Only two of the shuttles are likely to be sold, with the third expected to remain in government hands, possibly on display in Washington. "Nasa advised Congress that it would begin discussions with the Smithsonian Institution regarding accession of a flown orbiter to the national collection," the agency said in the document.

The idea is to "gauge the level and scope of interest of US organisations in acquiring the two other orbiters for public display once Nasa's programmatic requirements for the assets have been satisfied."

Nasa's own visitor centres, in Houston and at the Kennedy Space Centre, where all 124 shuttle launches to date have taken place, are among those invited to respond.

Five shuttles have flown into space since the programme began in 1981. Two of them, Challenger and Columbia, were destroyed in the disasters of 1986 and 2003 that cost 14 astronauts their lives.

The last shuttle mission is scheduled for September 2010, when construction of the international space station is expected to be complete. The incoming US president, Barack Obama, has appointed a team to assess the viability of extending shuttle flights beyond that date, to close the gap until the planned first manned flight of the new Orion crew capsule and Ares rocket in 2015.

[manxman]

Interesting story, on my last visit to the US I visited Kennedy Space Centre and saw the Space Shuttle on display there ..... one of the main highlights of my holiday in the US.  :)

[Gizmo]

Looks like Barack is going to start wasting our money before he is even in office.
Nasa is scrapping the Shuttle program in 2010 due in part that many of the part manufacturers either no longer make shuttle parts, or are no longer in business.  The new rockets should be cheaper and more reliable than trying to remanufacture a bunch of obsolete parts.  So since they already know what the problem is, lets spend more money on research..... ouch!

Been to both space centers.  First was Kennedy.  That is where my son made his aero space engineering career decision right about here.

[Smoking Duck]

That's awesome Giz.  I wish I was a rocket scientist.

[Gizmo]

That's awesome Giz.  I wish I was a rocket scientist.

Funny you should mention that,
My son was telling me the other day that he was with several co-workers that went to Florida for the Shuttle launch.  They were in a cafe on the way there and the waitress made a comment on a decision they had to make similar to "well at least it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out".  Had she only known.

[Smoking Duck]

I have an Odyssey golf hat and on the back it reads:  Golf is not rocket science.

Any time I try to overthink a shot or a putt, I take the hat off and read it.  Then I wonder how the rocket scientists would make the shot  ;D

[Gizmo]

3 days later, after calculating all the angles, velocity, wind speed, drag coefficients, range, club head speed prior to impact, during impact, friction of ball on ground or tee, .... plus the time to pop the top and down another one.   Oh, the last one was me.  ;)

[Smoking Duck]

 ;D ;D ;D

[Consiglieri]

I can't make this stuff up: one of my college buddies is an engineer by training and he was hired to work for a NASA subcontractor.  He'd been working there for years and it came time to order business cards.  To his way of thinking, since he didn't interact with vendors or NASA, the only people who would receive his card were his mother and girls he met.  So filling out the requisition form, his title was "Rocket Scientist."  Apparently, one of his boss' responsibilities was business card quality control...  Cards were printed, but weren't passed out in bars (at least not by my buddy).   

And Giz: your preswing routine overlooked the part where you keep saying to yourself "Keep the head down; don't overswing"

[Scotty-G]

Being in the Rocket Science industry . . .

Giz, if your son is interrested in Aerospace Engineering - have him ask himself some important questions -

Would he more interrested in building computer models and running analysis, sitting down at a computer and creating a design, working with different engineering groups and coordinating requirements, interfaces, etc., Overseeing various levels of the project/program he might be working on?

I've seen several folks jump around within industry not having realized the different specialties available and when they were in school, all they focused on was the WOW factor of seeing a hugh rocket nozzle and missile motor.  Those that have had a GREAT career so far early on focused on what aspect they enjoyed the most and that's were their studies were focused.  When it came time to compete and find that job and start their career, they had shown a focus in that area and that made them leading candidates for those positions.

Good news is that engineering wise, the american aerospace industry is projecting that it will have to do MAJOR hiring over the next 5-10 years with an entire generation of 30+ years experienced folks retiring.  Sad to see them go and the loss of all that experience.

I met a waitress once that made a rocket scientist comment and my reply to her was at least a rocket scientist can find a good paying career, not just a minimum wage job, serving people their food - did make sure that we had already been served our meals before making comment and haven't been back to that place since.   ;)

[Gizmo]

Being in the Rocket Science industry . . .

Giz, if your son is interrested in Aerospace Engineering - have him ask himself some important questions -

Would he more interrested in building computer models and running 0ysis, sitting down at a computer and creating a design, working with different engineering groups and coordinating requirements, interfaces, etc., Overseeing various levels of the project/program he might be working on?

I've seen several folks jump around within industry not having realized the different specialties available and when they were in school, all they focused on was the WOW factor of seeing a hugh rocket nozzle and missile motor.  Those that have had a GREAT career so far early on focused on what aspect they enjoyed the most and that's were their studies were focused.  When it came time to compete and find that job and start their career, they had shown a focus in that area and that made them leading candidates for those positions.

Good news is that engineering wise, the american aerospace industry is projecting that it will have to do MAJOR hiring over the next 5-10 years with an entire generation of 30+ years experienced folks retiring.  Sad to see them go and the loss of all that experience.

I met a waitress once that made a rocket scientist comment and my reply to her was at least a rocket scientist can find a good paying career, not just a minimum wage job, serving people their food - did make sure that we had already been served our meals before making comment and haven't been back to that place since.   ;)

He did internships at a few companies since Jr in High School, and all the way through college, doing CAD and design work.  Was actually going to work in the standard Aero Space company (although the first job offer was not exactly what he was looking for) and then got an offer to work at Nasa in Mission Control.  The great thing is I have never hear anyone say "I love my job" more than he has in the 5 months he has been there even fighting the two hurricanes. 

[Scotty-G]

That's great to hear.  All the best to him and much success.  :)

[Caneyscud]

You know you are a "smoker" when you see the ad and see the pictures, you wonder what mods would be needed to....  that payload area would sure make a sweet whole hog cooker.