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From: jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Support for Shuttle
Message-ID: <1961@peora.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Feb-86 08:44:48 EST
Article-I.D.: peora.1961
Posted: Fri Feb  7 08:44:48 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Feb-86 06:39:48 EST
References: <394@tekigm2.UUCP>, <3276@teklabs.UUCP> <6345@utzoo.UUCP> <784@milano.UUCP>
Organization: Concurrent Computer Corporation, Orlando, Fl
Lines: 34

> Last night I saw Mr.  Rockwell (the guy who founded the firm of the same
> name, but who now has a new aerospace company) at a news conference offer
> to build a new shuttle [which would] then be "leased" to NASA, on a
> lease-to-buy scheme. (IE Rockwell's company makes back its bucks, NASA
> gets to keep the orbiter in the end.)
>
> Note, these are my recollections of a 60-second blurb on CNN, and might not
> be completely correct.

That was General Space Corp., a subsidiary of Astrotech International
Corp; the price of the new shuttle was $1.2 billion, though they didn't
specify what the fee for leasing it would be.  Bill Nelson (a local
congressman down here; he flew on the shuttle recently) is lobbying for a
$1.5 billion emergency appropriation from Congress, and Astrotech in turn
is lobbying Bill Nelson.  According to the Orlando Sentinel, it's the
second time they've made that offer (the first time was in 1984, but then
they wanted to own it themselves and operate it privately, which NASA
rejected).

According to the Sentinel, Rockwell commented, "The private sector is
going to take over the entire space transportation system some day.  We
want to get our ducks in a row and be at the head of the line."

(Astrotech is the big white building with the purple and orange-red stripes
and lots of microwave antennas on top that you pass on the way to the
Space Center just off the Bee Line Highway a short way before you get to
the McDonnell-Douglas plant.)
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