Apur-ee.172
net.columbia
utzoo!decvax!pur-ee!davy
Thu Nov 19 12:01:25 1981
Private Investors Price Shuttle
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- A group of private investors has approached
the Reagan administration to propose buying a space shuttle in what
would mark the beginning of major private-sector involvement in the
nation's space program, one person involved in the venture says.
Officials at the Space Transportation Co. of Princeton, N.J., want to
buy a shuttle similar to the Columbia and rent it to an operator -- the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration or a private entity, the
Dallas Morning News reported today.
"Essentially, there are a lot of people paying a lot of money for
satellites to do what a shuttle can do cheaper," said William H. Sword
Jr., who with his father is part of a Princeton investment firm
organizing the planned venture.
"We think private business will be able to handle all that future
business more efficiently than the government," the younger Sword told
The Associated Press today.
The Space Transportation Co. wants to buy the fifth shuttle, the
newspaper said.
A consultant with the Space Transportation Co. said the firm had at
least $200 million in an escrow account, but Heiss would not confirm or
deny that. The Columbia cost more than $500 million.
>From The Lafayette Journal and Courier (the Daily Mistake), 11-18-81.
--Dave
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