So, what if you won a $110,000 trip to space…

From Seattle PI: So, what if you won a $110,000 trip to space…

The Space Needle is finally living up to its name.

The pointy, space-age icon of Seattle’s landscape is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year by sending one adventurous soul into space on a space-tourism flight that will briefly leave the Earth’s atmosphere for a zero-gravity experience and stunning views of the planet.

The cost of the celebratory giveaway? The trip is valued at $110,000.

Space Needle executives announced the giveaway Monday at a celebrity-studded event. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin talked about the future of space exploration being up to private corporations, and Richard Garriott, one of the world’s first space tourists, described his 2008 experience.

“Going to space once does not satiate the desire,” Garriott said.

He’s planning on returning in 2012, when Space Adventures takes the Space Needle’s contest winner into orbit around the Earth.


With NASA’s space shuttle program officially at an end, Aldrin said he believes private industry will play a big part in sustaining space exploration.

“I really do hope the spirit of optimism that existed back in the time when the Space Needle was constructed will return to us,” Aldrin said.

Space-travel hopefuls can enter to win at spaceneedle.com. 1,000 entrants will be selected for the semifinal stage of the contest at random, and those will be required to submit one-minute videos about compete in physical and mental tests.

The winner will be rocketed up on a suborbital trip in 2012.