12 August 2005
NASA to ferry passenger with shuttle
Bono will be in "driver's" seat
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In a move apparently intended to boost
the image of the agency as well as contribute to it's bottom line, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today
that when the Discovery orbiter is ferried back to Cape Canaveral on the
top of it's 747 host, the jumbo jet as well as the shuttle itself will
be carrying commercial passengers.
Dr. Milo Moraine, spokesman for NASA said, "We believe that it is time
to begin to integrate commercial air travel with space travel. The
opportunity to fly on or even with an orbiter provides the public with
a sense of things to come in space travel. This is our way of
preparing the public for the future of aviation and transportation."
Travel Fox has learned from a reliable source inside the space agency
that Bono has already reserved the flight commander's seat in Discovery
for the 3000 mile journey from California to Florida. There is also
speculation that representatives for Jessica Simpson are negotiating for
her to fly in a payload specialist's seat on the shuttle's return trip.
Critics of the space agency and its programs have intimated that NASA
purposely landed the orbiter in California solely to maintain interest
in the shuttle and the space station and is using the transport of
private citizens and celebrities as a stunt to prop up support for those
programs.
Back in Washington, Rep. Oliver Hutchenson, D-Ore., has requested that
congress open an investigation into the matter. He cited the
accomplishments of Burt Rutan when announcing his intention, saying, "Commercial space travel is best left to private industry, not to the
government."
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