Firm’s Telephone Sweepstakes Offers Soviet Rocket Ride
A company is betting Americans so dearly want to fly in space that they will pay to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip aboard a Soviet rocket and a week on the space station Mir.
“Our long-term business strategy is to arrange for space travel opportunities for anyone who wishes to go into space,” James Davidson of Space Travel Services said Monday.
Would-be American cosmonauts can call 1-900-258-2MIR--at a cost of $2.99 per call--to enter a random drawing. Space Travel gets more than half of that revenue.
Soviet officials could not be reached Monday to confirm the announcement.
But Americans reacted immediately to the contest offer. Thousands of calls to the number Monday overloaded the service company’s circuits and made the line inaccessible, the company said.
The company said the problem should be corrected by today.
The winner, to be selected in December, 1991, gets six months of training, including Russian language lessons, and a seat on a Soviet rocket in late 1992 or early 1993, plus $500,000 cash.
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