Official News - page 7

REAL LIFE NEWS: SECOND CHANCE FOR SPACE RIDE PRIZE MAN

by Hazed

Last week I told you about Brian Emmett, who had won a contest where the prize was a trip to space – but had been forced to turn it down because he couldn't pay the tax on it.

Now he may get his chance to fulfil his lifelong dream and go into space after all, thanks to Benson Space Co, a company founded by rocket entrepreneur Jim Benson, which is trying to break into the suborbital spaceflight business.

Benson, who dreamed of flying to space as a boy, said he sympathized with Emmett, so he has now offered him a consulting position with the company. "He had a dream, the dream got broken and we fixed it," he said.

The company has offered to pay Emmett to serve as a "test passenger", allowing him to hitch a free ride into space in late 2008 when the company hopes to be sending its first paying tourists. In return, Emmett would offer his feedback during the testing phase of the project.

So the story has a happy ending after all!

Fed2 Star index Previous issues Fed 2 home page