Space Travel – Win Via Facebook!
Hi there people in Travel Tart land, I’ve something a bit different for you today in regards to Space Travel. I’ve scored an interview with Mary from the Space Needle, which is located in Seattle in the United States.
They’re offering an awesome prize which is worth well over 6 figures worth – a trip into space! Now that would be the ultimate travel addicts dream – Space Travel!
This competition is a bit different – to celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Space Needle is hosting a sweepstakes for the chance to travel to space.
One of the coolest parts about the Race to Space contest is that it’s held on Facebook; your chances to win increase every time you share it with friends.
Here is a promo:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmsoXkk0SiE&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
For me, that would be the ultimate travel junket. Scoring a trip into space for a bit of Space Travel. Unfortunately, this competition is only open to Canadian and United States residents, but it grabbed my attention because this is something that I would love to do one day.
Anyway, here is the chat with Mary who was happy to talk about this great prize.
The Space Travel Interview
The Travel Tart: Hi Mary, thanks for the time to chat. This competition is a bit left of field! Where did the idea come from?
Mary: Hi Anthony. I’m Mary Bacarella and I work at the world famous Space Needle in Seattle. We’re celebrating a big anniversary next year – our 50th – and we wanted to something really special. In thinking back to why the Needle was originally built, it was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and the theme of that fair was “Century 21, the age of Space.” Also, for our 45th anniversary, we sent our 45 millionth guest to Paris to the Eiffel Tower and we wanted to top that. With the end of the shuttle program and the rise of all of the exciting new private space programs – we couldn’t think of a more exciting and legacy-enhancing way to celebrate our anniversary than sending someone into space. It is a perfect fit for us as we are the Space Needle and we look like a flying saucer or a home during the Jetsons era.
The Travel Tart: Does the winner have to tweet, or update their Facebook profile once they are in space? That would surely be the most remote update ever! 😉
Mary: Wow! Can that even be done? We definitely need to look into that. That would be amazing. It’s time to look into what system could do that.
The Travel Tart: Just remember I gave you that idea! 😉 What can the lucky winner expect to experience in space?
Mary: Besides an incredible rush, the winner will definitely experience weightlessness, see the curvature of the earth and will be one of only a handful of people in the world that have done this.
The Travel Tart: If this flight was part of an airline loyalty program, how many frequent flyer points could one expect from the suborbital return trip?
Mary: I’m thinking it’s worth at least a million frequent flyer miles just for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of it.
The Travel Tart: I know this might be strange, but I’ve always wondered about this – in a weightless situation, what would be the implications if I decided to celebrate and open a fizzy beer?
Mary: I’m not sure but from footage that we’ve all seen of astronauts in space, it would appear that the liquid of the beer would just kind of float around. You might have to chase after it.
The Travel Tart: Just wondering, is there any room for a travel blogger from the other side of the world to write about the experience? ;P
Mary: Very smooth – nice try! I’ll check and see but I wouldn’t bank on it for this trip. But things are moving fast in the private space travel world. You might get there sooner than you think.
The Travel Tart: I hope so, Thanks for your time!
More Space Travel Stuff
More more Space Travel stuff and more info about the competition, see more at the Space Needle website. Enter by November 30 2011!
Also, check out The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist’s Guide, and Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel.
wow if i ever had the chance to travel to the space… but i see the competition is only available for the people in the US and Canada. maybe later 🙂
This is quite interesting but I’m not yet ready to travel in space.
I can’t believe this is a real contest! I’m a little bummed I missed out on the deadline, I would have loved to eat some of that freeze-dried astronaut ice cream, or maybe drink some tang in space.
On a related note, I just found another travel give-a-way, I wonder if space counts as a “dream destination”