Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ogicse!emory!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
From: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: orbiters
Message-ID: <1477@ke4zv.UUCP>
Date: 24 Oct 90 15:19:51 GMT
References: <3833@awdprime.UUCP> <5758@mace.cc.purdue.edu> <1058@dg.dg.com> <100@abode.UUCP> <5852@mace.cc.purdue.edu> <101@abode.UUCP> <1990Oct23.153515.6794@ericsson.se>
Reply-To: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
Organization: Gannett Technologies Group
Lines: 19

In article <1990Oct23.153515.6794@ericsson.se> etxenke@juno20.ericsson.se (Andrei Lenkei TM/JU 95712) writes:
>
>Here in Sweden we have a tv channel named... Discovery. They show documentaries
> on various topics. Last night they had a program about space exploration and 
>they siad that it was possible for private persons to buy space (even to fly)
> on the shuttle. Could tht be correct ?!?!? 

Here in the US we also have a channel named Discovery that shows science
programs. I don't know if it's the same program or not. Anyway, before
the Challenger accident, a private person could purchase shuttle space
called Getaway Specials or GAS for as little as $10,000. This was a canister
in the payload bay about the size of a large garbage can. Included in the
price was activation of your payload by the Mission Specialist. Other major
payloads were also for hire and one actually flew with a private company's
engineer in attendance (some sort of drug manufacturing experiment). After
Challenger, the plug was pulled on all this. As NASA regains confidence in
the shuttle, if they ever do, this program may restart.

Gary