The U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation is offering donors who give $10,000 or more to the USSRC's "Help Land a Shuttle Training Aircraft" crowd-funding campaign a chance to fly with five-time shuttle astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. The donor and a guest will join Gibson in Huntsville, Alabama, aboard his Beechcraft Bonanza for a one-hour aerial tour of the city, including an aerial view of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center campus. More details about the "fly with an astronaut" perk can be
found here.
"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, "The STA is an important piece of the space shuttle legacy, one that many astronaut pilots are fond of. Having the STA on exhibit for the Center's visitors and Space Camp trainees is an excellent way to celebrate the space shuttle program's legacy and continue inspiring future generations of explorers."
Capt USN (Ret.) Robert "Hoot" Gibson is a retired NASA astronaut, naval aviator and test pilot. Gibson flew five space shuttle missions, including STS-71, the first shuttle mission to dock with Russian Space Station Mir. A life-long aviation enthusiast, Gibson has flown more than 111 types of aircraft and continues to fly in air races around the globe. Gibson is a long-time supporter of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and Space Camp. The USSRC inducted him into the Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2012.