Seattle milestone wants to place you in space

The Seattle Space Needle, to commemorate its 50th anniversary, is supporting a competition with an out-of-this-world reward. The winner will be flown into space. Resource for this article - Space Needle competition promises to put the winner in spaceby Newsytype.com.

World fair left behind

As a symbol of the space race, the Seattle 1962 World's Fair constructed the Space Needle. The milestone gets away a trip to Paris for its 45th anniversary. But for its golden anniversary, the Space Needle wanted to do something to recapture its original theme. There were 1,700 individuals entered by noon on Monday after the competition was declared. As reported by CEO Ron Sevart of the Space Needle:

"We wanted to do something amazing. This was why the Space Needle was built, the dawn of the Space Age. As the space-shuttle program winds down, what's next is the capability of the average citizen to enjoy space travel."

Want in?

You have to be 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen to qualify. You are able to enter at Facebook at facebook.com/SpaceNeedle or at the Space Needle's site. The site is www.spaceneedle.com. One thousand finalists will be randomly picked by a computer. There will be 40 individuals picked for voting after those 1,000 finalists. This will be after a one minute video is sent in. In April, the winner will be chosen. This will be after the top 20 are given fitness evaluations.

Walked on the moon

On Monday, the competition was declared by previous astronaut Buzz Aldrin. He was one of the men who got to the moon and back. "There's no other thrill than to be in space and circle the Earth," he said.

Only six minutes in space

The winning flight will last about a half an hour, travel 62 miles into space, provide six minutes of zero gravity, and cost about $110,000. Virginia-based Space Adventures will handle the travel arrangements. For about 10 years, the space bureau has offered flights to space, as reported by Chairman Eric Anderson. There have been 8 individuals to go to the ISS through them. Altogether, there have been many miles traveled. It is 36 million total.

Creating a dream

Anderson wanted to be an astronaut but was prevented from joining NASA due to poor eyesight. So he created a private space-travel bureau instead. "If you would like to go to space with your lifetime, you are able to do it," he said.

Citations

Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015793654_spaceneedle02...,

Space Needle: http://www.spaceneedle.com/spacerace2012/rules.html,

Space Adventures: http://www.spaceadventures.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Our_Vision.welcome

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