NASA is taking the unprecedented step of offering to sell the three space shuttles to museums when the workhorse vehicles are retired some time after 2010, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The space agency is seeking at least $42 million—including $6 million for shipping and handling, and the cost of decontaminating each shuttle.
NASA is contacting science museums, educational institutions and other organizations in a hunt for potential buyers able to come up with such a large sum for a piece of space history. Insiders say the agency needs every cent for the shuttle's replacement, the Ares 1 rocket and Orion capsule, which are over budget.
(More NASA stories.)