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Glass skywalk to open over Grand Canyon
Mar 20, 2007, 12:58 GMT
Hualapai Reservation, Arizona - An opening ceremony for a glass viewing platform 1,200 metres above the floor of the Grand Canyon will kick off Tuesday as the second man to set foot on the moon becomes the first to walk on the tourist attraction.
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin will cross the skywalk on the Hualapai American Indian tribe's reservation, which will open to the public March 28 with tickets costing 25 dollars.
The 453-metric-ton, 30-million-dollar platform is fastened to the rock by a complicated system of metal cantilevers. It juts out 20 metres from the red rock walls of the canyon and seems to hang in the air above the canyon floor.
The structure has sparked controversy, with some tribe members saying it violates sacred ground and environmentalists charging that it demeans the area's natural beauty.
The impoverished tribe hopes the projected 600,000 visitors each year will provide needed funds.
Aldrin was the second man, behind astronaut Neil Armstrong, to set foot on the moon when the two landed on the moon in July, 1969.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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SP4: Notice...Mar 20th, 2007 - 20:43:54
...that there seems to be no 'Religous Infringement' on this particular project.
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