Have you ever wanted to travel to space? In the near future, wealthy tourists will be able to ascend to heights once reached only by astronauts.The first SpaceShipTwo plane, seen above, is named the V.S.S. Enterprise (which is short for Virgin Space Ship Enterprise). The SpaceShipTwo plane will carry passengers into Earth’s suborbit–the edge of space!

Virgin Galactic, the manufacturer of the V.S.S. Enterprise, plans to build five SpaceShipTwo planes. Before that can happen, the V.S.S. Enterprise will go through a series of safety tests. The first flight into suborbit with passengers is planned for 2011. Tickets will cost about $200,000! Would you like to take a SpaceShipTwo flight into suborbit?

Read more about the V.S.S. Enterprise on National Geographic News.

See photos from trips to the moon on National Geographic Kids.

Visit the planets in our solar system with Nat and Geo in Pluto’s Secret.

Photograph by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo