Getting a space shuttle.

With the shuttle era coming to an end, museums are jockeying for position to get one of the vehicles for display. But it’s difficult.

First of all, NASA is keeping the original prototype, the Enterprise. That leaves Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavor. (The Challenger and Columbia were, as we all sadly recall, lost.) So, there are only 3 available.

Can you get your own space shuttle?

Claim one

In addition to convincing NASA that YOU should get one, you need to come up with some money. Big money. You will need to pay for transportation of the shuttle to your facility, and more money to make it safe for presentation to the public. (For example, residual of any dangerous fuels needs to be completely removed.) We’re talking about $42 million for transportation, and another $8 million to get the shuttle ready for public display.

Buy one

There’s another way. You can try to have one built for you. Estimated cost: $1.7 billion. Of course, there are people who could actually pay for one. Maybe that Mexican drug czar who’s just make the list of richest people could use one to evade authorities…

In any case, even if you could buy one, you’d still need the facilities, expertise and supplies (think lots of expensive fuel) to make a trip. That $20 – $30 for a private trip to the International Space Station is starting to sound like a bargain…

For more details on all this, see this article from Mental Floss.