The David Foster Foundation has an usual item up for bid at its Miracle Gala and Concert next month in Calgary — a round trip to space.
The owners of the XCOR Lynx rocket-powered spacecraft, which is undergoing test flights, have donated to the foundation a seat for one to space alongside a three-time space shuttle astronaut.
“We’re known for having access to the inaccessible,” Mike Ravenhill, CEO of the David Foster Foundation, said Monday.
Ravenhill expects bids for the flight to top $200,000 and come from all over the world.
The David Foster Foundation supports families for all non-medical expenses when their children are undergoing organ transplants.
A replica of the aircraft will be at the event, to be held in Calgary on Sept. 27 at the West Jet headquarters.
This will be the first time the XCOR aircraft will be brought to Canada, Ravenhill said.
Prospective passengers will have to undergo a medical exam and pre-flight training, including withstanding taxing G forces and other uncomfortable aspects of space flights.
The foundation has auctioned other unusual items in the past, such as the piano that David Foster played while composing a number of his hits.
“Auction items are things that it doesn’t matter if you’re extremely wealthy; you normally can’t buy what we offer,” Ravenhill said.
The XCOR rocket-powered aircraft has two seats and will be flown by former astronaut Rick Searfoss.
Both the pilot and passenger will wear spacesuits. The flight will take off from and land in the Mojave Desert in California.
It’s a rare chance to join an elite group of people, Ravenhill said.
“Only just over 500 people in the world and 10 Canadians have been in space,” he said.
“It will be a trip that’s out of this world.”
Those who cannot attend the gala can register their bids remotely via telephone.
Since 1986, the David Foster Foundation has assisted more than 1,000 Canadian families with children in need of major organ transplants, and provided millions of dollars in direct family support.
In 2012, there were 3,404 patients waiting for organ transplants and only 1,168 patients who received transplants.
