Sponsoring Spaceflight: Virtual Spacecraft on Ebay to Subsidize Second Life's Spaceport Alpha (Updated)

Normally I'd wait until Mixed Reality Monday to mention this, but it's too damn brilliant and worthy to wait on: The real world aerospace engineers and scientists who own Second Life's Spaceport Alpha and the International Spaceflight Museum*, an multi-island tribute to space travel past and present, with scale model recreations of legendary rockets and spacecraft built with expert care, need funds to cover their land costs, and application fees for their 501c3 non-profit status.  (The Spaceport is an awesome educational resource, and has been the site for numerous virtual lectures and presentations by staff and guests renown in the field.)

Here's the even cooler part: To raise those funds, they're auctioning sponsorships of their virtual spacecraft on Ebay, including Space Shuttle Endeavor and the International Space Museum.*

Here's the Ebay page where they're listed, with opening bids for six month sponsorships of $9.99.  Winning sponsors get their names prominently affixed on the exhibit's display signage at the museum in Second Life.  Spaceport's Opal Lei* tells me you can also go into SL to place a bid.

"The in-world ones have auction blocks next to the exhibit sign," Opal tells me.  "Those will end 28 days after the first bid is received."  (Direct SLURL teleport to Spaceport Alpha at this link, and if you haven't visited before, you really should.)  Bidding ends on December 14/15th!

*Update, 12/12: In Comments, Opal Lei offers a correction/clarification: "Spaceport Alpha is the name of the sim owned by the ISM Corporation. The International Spaceflight Museum is located in Spaceport Alpha and in Spaceport Bravo. I'm a volunteer with the ISM, not with 'Spaceport'."

Comments

[Opal Lei]

A little correction:

Spaceport Alpha is the name of the sim owned by the ISM Corporation. The International Spaceflight Museum is located in Spaceport Alpha and in Spaceport Bravo. I'm a volunteer with the ISM, not with "Spaceport".