NASA Revises Cost and Schedule for Displaying Retired Shuttles

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WASHINGTON -- NASA has issued a follow-up Request for Information, or
RFI, for ideas from education institutions, science museums and other
appropriate organizations about the community's ability to acquire
and publicly display orbiters after the conclusion of the Space
Shuttle Program.

The original RFI in December 2008 noted that a potential shuttle
recipient would have to pay an estimated $42 million for the cost of
"safeing" an orbiter, preparing it for display and ferrying it to a
U.S. destination airport. NASA has updated the requirements and tasks
needed to make each orbiter safe for disposition. The agency will not
ask recipients to provide the funds for this activity. Except for
cost and scheduled delivery changes, the 2008 and 2010 RFIs are
virtually the same. In this follow-up RFI, NASA revised the estimated
display preparation and ferrying costs to $28.8 million.

The schedule for transferring the orbiters may be six months earlier
than originally anticipated. NASA also desires to make selections a
year before receipt of the orbiters, so recipient organizations will
have sufficient time to conduct any fundraising activities necessary
to support preparation and ferry costs.

RFI responses are due to NASA by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 19,
2010. Organizations that responded to the original RFI do not need to
resubmit a full response, but should clarify their positions with
respect to these changes.

NASA is planning to transfer space shuttle Discovery to the National
Air and Space Museum. Shuttle orbiters Endeavour and Atlantis will be
available for placement no earlier than July, 2011.

For additional information and to view the RFI, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/transition

For additional information about the shuttle program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Source: NASA