Can you buy an old space shuttle?

Space geeks don’t have to look any further than NASA, where they can pick up a retired space shuttle for the bargain-basement price of $28.8 million. That’s the cost NASA estimates for shipping and handling on a space shuttle.

What happened to space shuttle Atlantis?

Atlantis landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on 21 July 2011. By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km), which is more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

Where is the space shuttle Atlantis right now?

the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Space Shuttle Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Could the space shuttle be brought out of retirement?

Probably too long. Beutel estimates it would take several years to get a retired shuttle space-worthy. Rather than undo all the changes, “our direction for getting to and from the ISS is to turn to commercial companies,” Beutel said.

How much is it to buy a space shuttle?

Spacecraft are fine in a vacuum, she points out, “but they don’t do that well on Earth. Both NASA and the Museum were a little naïve.” Most important, acquiring a shuttle orbiter is expensive. NASA is requiring the winners to come up with $28 million— just for shipping and handling.

How much does it cost to buy a space shuttle?

How much does the Space Shuttle cost? A. The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the orbiter built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $1.7 billion. Q.

Did they ever find the bodies of the Columbia shuttle astronauts?

The remains of all seven astronauts were recovered, despite the obstacles of terrain and the scope of the search. Searchers combed through pine forests, hundreds of thousands of acres of underbrush, and boggy areas. Parts of the shuttle were found in Lake Nacogdoches and the Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Did they ever find the bodies of the Challenger shuttle astronauts?

In March 1986, the remains of the astronauts were found in the debris of the crew cabin. Though all of the important pieces of the shuttle were retrieved by the time NASA closed its Challenger investigation in 1986, most of the spacecraft remained in the Atlantic Ocean.

Where are the 4 remaining space shuttles?

Retired Space Shuttle Locations

  • Shuttle Atlantis – Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
  • Shuttle Discovery – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
  • Shuttle Endeavour – California Science Center.
  • Shuttle Enterprise – Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Will space shuttle ever fly again?

The current condition of the orbiters also makes it unlikely that they’ll ever fly again. NASA technicians have been prepping Atlantis and its sister shuttles Discovery and Endeavour for their retirement roles as museum showpieces ever since they touched down.

Could a space shuttle go to the moon?

Can the Space Shuttle fly to the Moon? A. No, the Space Shuttle is designed to travel in low-Earth orbit (within a few hundred miles of the Earth’s surface). It does not carry enough propellant to leave Earth’s orbit and travel to the Moon.