On December 7th the first spacecraft designed to take private individuals into space will be revealed. The pioneering project of Virgin Galactic, the privatization of space flight, will reach its conclusion next month.

It will be possible to order a flight ticket in Israel as well, and you will have to part with only 200,000 dollars. Given that the recession is almost behind us, you can probably rest assured an Israeli representative will be on that prestigious, intriguing, and fascinating flight. 

After successful test flights, the space project is ready to hit the high road next month with a festive unveiling of SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave Desert, California. Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Galactic, will unveil the spacecraft.

WhiteKnightTwo is a jet-powered carrier that will launch the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft; the two vehicles form a two-stage manned launch system. The ships will form the basis for Virgin Galactic's suborbital fleet. The first services will operate from Spaceport America in New Mexico, a $200 million spaceport in New Mexico partly funded by the state government, which will become the permanent launch site when commercial launches begin, though other spaceports may open in the U.K. or Sweden.

SpaceShipTwo will carry six passengers and two pilots, and will reach 4,200 kilometers per hour (2,600 miles per hour), using a single hybrid rocket motor. The spacecraft is launched from its mother ship, WhiteKnightTwo, once they reach the altitude of 15,200 meters (50,000 feet). SpaceShipTwo uses a feathered reentry system, feasible due to the low speed of re-entry – by contrast, space shuttles re-enter at orbital speeds, closer to 25,000 km/h (16,000 mph), using heat shields. All seats will recline back during landing to decrease the discomfort of G-forces.

Virgin Galactic has plans to operate a fleet of five such craft, and the first paying customers are expected to fly by 2011.
At the unveiling’s table of honor will be Israeli representatives of the Galactic Dreamlines company, which received the franchise to sell the tickets in Israel. The company reports that a flight ticket into space will cost in Israel about 200,000 dollars, with half the amount to be paid as a deposit for a reservation of a seat on the flight.
 
To date the commercial space flight has over 300 people around the world who have paid an advance, and over 70,000 have expressed their desire to fly. The overall amount paid in deposits so far stands at $40 million.

(David Schallheim contributed to this report).