HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Donate at least $10,000 to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Shuttle Training Aircraft crowdfunding campaign, and fly with five-time shuttle astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson during a one-hour tour of Huntsville.
That's the latest perk the USSRC is offering residents who give $10,000 or more to the "Help Land a Shuttle Training Aircraft" campaign on Indiegogo, a popular crowdfunding website.
A donor and a guest can join Gibson aboard his Beechcraft Bonanza, an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947. The trip will include an aerial tour of the Rocket Center and city at large.
"The U.S. Space & Rocket Center's plan to exhibit a Shuttle Training Aircraft is a wonderful project and one that I am happy to support," Gibson said in a statement. "The STA is an important piece of the space shuttle legacy, one that many astronaut pilots are fond of."
In addition to the one-hour tour with Gibson, donors who give $10,000 or more will receive a USSRC VIP package, which includes meals, behind-the-scenes tours and other perks listed on the crowdfunding page. Travel to Huntsville and accommodations are not included.
In early March, USSRC launched a 60-day crowdfunding campaign to raise $70,000 to bring the G-II aircraft to the space center's Shuttle Park. As of 10 this morning, $44,184 had been collected toward the cause.
The campaign, which ends in 10 days, will fund site preparation and structural supports to install the training aircraft at Shuttle Park.
The G-II aircraft, a business jet converted by NASA as a shuttle astronaut training tool to land the Space Shuttle Orbiter, was acquired by USSRC two years ago and is currently stationed at Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport.
Gibson, a retired NASA astronaut, naval aviator and test pilot, flew five space shuttle missions. He has flown more than 111 types of aircraft and is a long-time supporter of the USSRC.
Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.