Magnificent Desolation_ The Long Journey Home From the Moon - Buzz Aldrin [116]
Six months later, on July 20, 1989, we were back in Washington, D.C., at the twentieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. I gave my pitch along with Neil and Mike on the steps at the Smithsonian in Washington, and listened as President Bush stated that America would move aggressively forward in space to do three things: first, complete the space station by 2000; second, go back to the moon, this time for keeps, by setting up a base there; and, third, begin missions to Mars. I was elated. This was good news indeed.
Unfortunately for the space program, the Democratic majority in Congress wanted to thwart Bush 41's plans any way they could, and that included stunting the enthusiasm for getting America’s space program back in gear. “How much does all this cost?” we heard over and over again. “Why should we spend all that money when there are so many pressing needs on Earth?”
A ninety-day feasibility study was done, with Congress concluding that the president’s plans were too expensive, and refusing to fund them. The $400-billion price tag was too outlandish, opponents said. America’s renewed thrust into space was dead on arrival.
Naturally, I was disappointed. But because of the lack of government support, I began ruminating more about commercial ventures, including space tourism. As I thought about matters, it seemed to me that ShareSpace, the organization I had envisioned several years earlier, was the way to get ordinary citizens into space. I felt sure that enthusiasm and excitement about the exploration of space were lying latent in American adventurers. All we needed to do was to find a way to help them make their dreams a reality. I had witnessed the United Airlines pilots’ excitement over wanting to fly the space shuttle; some companies even wanted to purchase a space shuttle for commercial use. I had known high-profile individuals like John Denver who had a desire to fly into space. I believed that if we could find a way to pay for it, people would want to travel into space and enjoy the experience firsthand. And I was convinced that I had come up with a plan to get them there.
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OH, the PLACES
YOU WILL GO!
THE MORE I STUDIED THE COST OF SPACE TOURISM, THE MORE I wondered if there was a better way than just offering seats on the space shuttle to rich people who could afford to spend $20 million or more. The number of those who could afford such an expenditure, while larger than one might think, is still relatively small compared to the people who would be interested in traveling into space if it were an attainable goal.
Even a price tag of $100,000 for a suborbital trip would be exorbitant for most, although I’m sure the seats would be in high demand for those wanting a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Nevertheless, I became more convinced that the lottery was the best way to get the “average Joe” involved, selling lottery tickets at a reasonably affordable price and offering various prizes leading up to the time when we could offer actual spaceflights. I kept talking about it everywhere I went, and increasingly people began to say, “Yes, why not?”
LOIS AND I were still living in Laguna Beach, but we weren’t there often. We crisscrossed the United States and hopscotched all around the globe. Traveling as much as Lois and I do sets you up for some unusual experiences. Once, on our way home from Europe, I stopped over in Houston for some meetings. Lois decided to go directly to our home in Emerald Bay to do some catching up on our business with our secretary. It was October 1993, and fires were raging all along the California coastline beginning in the Thousand Oaks area of Los Angeles, and then