Buy yourself a Shuttle!

[Juanelm]

The perfect X-mas gift for any Orbiteer.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-bk-space-shuttle-cost-121708,0,3082628.story

 

[Tommy]

Great, let me bust open my piggy bank! <Smash> Darn, I'm a little short. Can anyone loan me $41,999,942.84?

 

[Andy44]

I guess you have to pay for Ares cost overruns somehow.

 

[Juanelm]

I guess you have to pay for Ares cost overruns somehow.

Heheh...

 

[Missioncmdr]

$42,000,000 seems kind of steep considering how many miles are on them. :lol:

 

[Eagle]

I'm somewhat cautious about releasing the shuttles from at minimum a boneyard standby before Orion or whatever next manned system has a few manned missions under its belt.

I guess these are normal feelings to see a bird like that retired.

Enough of that, a few more shuttle missions still left!

 

[Andy44]

True, but things are in motion to alter or dismantle required facilities for flying them, so keeping them in mothballs won't do any good. Plus some of their hardware is overdue for replacement and no one manufactures it anymore. STS isn't just an airframe, it's the entire system of ground infrastructure and the engineering network stretching back to the contractors' factories, all of which is going away.

Personally, I'll be happy when all the orbiters have completed their last missions, brought their crews home safe, and are safely tucked into nice climate-controlled museums. I've seen Enterprise up close, but she has fake tiles and engines. I want to see the real stuff.

 

[Star explorer]

Great, let me bust open my piggy bank! <Smash> Darn, I'm a little short. Can anyone loan me $41,999,942.84?

sure but i get to use it every other weekend :rofl:

 

[Moonwalker]

I have always dreamed about (for almost 15 years now) that NASA finally replaces the Space Shuttle by capsules again. So to me it's great to see NASA seriously preparing the Shuttle retirement these days.

 

[pete.dakota]

Seems a bit expensive, but I'm sure the price-tag is warranted considering what the wind-down cost of the STS will be.

I won't be surprised if in a century or two there a no winged orbiters - only sub-orbital spaceplanes and capsules; so any museum able to pay $42m now will certainly make a profit (or at least an improved image) by keeping a Shuttle on display indefinitely.

 

[adamb193]

So how many people do we got if we can get 50 people to pay 840000 a piece or a 100 people to pay 420000 a piece the more people we can get the less it will cost and then we can start our own Pirate Space exploration company.

ISS- Shuttle please identify yourself
Us- Arrr! we be th' first space pirates, prepare ye to be boarded, avast and ahoy!
ISS- Why does this alwasy happen?

 

[tblaxland]

True, but things are in motion to alter or dismantle required facilities for flying them, so keeping them in mothballs won't do any good.

IIRC, NASA has set a deadline of Mar '09 on any decision to extend STS, so the de-servicing is almost to the point of no return already.

I want to see the real stuff.

Yep, I'd part with a reasonable quantity of my hard-earned to see one. What would a shuttle be worth to the likes of NASM? Say 5m museum visitors/year, 2.5m visit the shuttle @ $20ea = $50m/year less operating costs = $10m(?)/year income. Seems a reasonable deal...

BTW, what if the museums say no? Judging by the quotes from the RFI, NASA would have to pay $42m to safe and store them anyway.

 

[MajorTom]

Who could pay $42M for a shuttle? A movie production studio.

Remake of Armageddon, anyone, but this time with real hardware and zero-g? :lol:

 

[Quick_Nick]

Full scale replicas:
http://www.spacetoys.com/products.php?cat=13

Prices aren't shown very much. I did find a price on a full-scale Mercury Redstone:
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2627805
Now... how much for a functional one? :lol:

 

[willy88]

I can just see Bill Gates laughing maniacally right now, thinking about the movie Moonraker. :rofl:

 

[C3PO]

$42,000,000 seems kind of steep considering how many miles are on them. :lol:

:rofl:

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

$42 million? That's not too expensive!
Our government is (sadly) planning to buy 85 new F-35's, costing $83 million each... so they could also consider buying about 167 functional (used) space shuttles
Oh wait, there are only 3 in stock...

Alternative: on the last flight, launch them into a higher earth orbit, carrying a Soyuz in the payload bay for the crew to return - or just unmanned piloted from the ground - leaving the shuttle in it's orbit. That should keep them in a (visually) good shape for some centuries? Anyhow, I don't think the american tax payers want to spent their money on such a flight!

 

[C3PO]

Do they come with an Orbiter Interface?

 

[Messierhunter]

Darn, I'm a little short. Can anyone loan me $41,999,942.84?

Check and see if the bank will give you a subprime loan. Oh wait, I think that ship sailed a few months ago, darn.


-----Post Added-----

Full scale replicas:
http://www.spacetoys.com/products.php?cat=13

I love looking at the replicas on that site. I wonder how much they'd charge to customize one to work with SSU, assuming you could do such a thing? Space Camp eat your heart out.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Just wait.

Some billionaire oil tycoon will buy them, and they will become a monument in someone's mansion's garden. Or someone will turn one into some kind of restaurant or club for the rich & famous.

Or else China will suddenly acquire 3 new "mystery" manned apace vehicles