A Kiwi with a Virgin Galactic ticket says the chance to fly into space is a "dream".
This comes as Virgin Galactic announces dates for its first commercial passenger space flight for the end of June.
The next flight will be in August, then every month after that.
1News spoke to Kiwi space enthusiast and entrepreneur Mark Rocket who has a ticket.
"I'm around 38 in the list and I think I'm on target to fly mid next year if they keep on schedule," he said today.
"It's been a dream of mine and many people around the world to get to space one day."
The first flight was supposed to be a few years after Rocket first bought his ticket in 2007 – however it’s taken more than 15 years to get off the ground.
"What they are trying to do is technically difficult, the vehicle they are flying is an unusual vehicle - it has taken a long time," said Richard Easther of Auckland University.
The launch comes in an increasingly competitive space sector – in the 20th century that competition was between global superpowers.
Now, it is between big companies, with players like Blue Origin and Space X racing to build the best rockets – and land lucrative contracts.
"The one thing that has made money from people going into space – actual people - is tourism," said Easther.
"One of the things we see in Antarctica is people taking boats to go look at penguins, and I think we will see the same thing with space-based activity."
If you want a seat on Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft you will need deep pockets – as of publishing tickets are currently going for more than $720,000 NZD.
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