FANCY ACQUIRING a glove worn by some space shuttle astronauts? Then how about a spacesuit from the shuttle or the Apollo programmes?
Or maybe you’d like to own a complete space shuttle, the Endeavour or maybe the Discovery? These will be available second-hand in 2011 for just $28.8 million (€20 million).
Nasa is in the midst of a sell-off of “space programme artifacts” and has invited “education institutions, museums and other organisations” to bid for them on the web. Most will be provided free to eligible groups, however these must pay for shipping and handling.
There will be costs, however, if you want a shuttle. For starters, the shuttle will have to be “safed” to scrub it clean of toxic chemicals and the removal of sensitive technology.
Then it will have to be transported, no mean feat given they weigh more than two million kilos (about 4.5 million lbs).
Nasa is currently in its second round of artifact clearance – with about 2,500 items available from all its manned programmes, going back to Mercury but also the Hubble programme. The first 913 artifacts were allocated at the end of last year, and the deadline for this second round is February 19th.
Don’t get your hopes too high, as there is no end of interest in the US – and Nasa controls the allocation.
Have a look at what’s up for grabs at http://gsaxcess.gov/ nasawel.htm.