Imagine blasting off into outer space in a rocket and experiencing the thrill of the earth rising.  At one time, only professional astronauts could leave our atmosphere, but in the near future, many ordinary people with extraordinary wealth will be able to.
Virgin Galactic, in tandem with Scaled Composites and other private companies, is currently producing a private spacecraft and selling tickets to the general public for sub-orbital spaceflights.
After Mike Melvill’s 2004 success in piloting the first private commercial spaceflight, Virgin Galactic began creating and funding a plan for commercial spacecraft.
“We want this program to be a whole new beginning in a commercial era of space travel,” Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said in a December 2009 Washington Post interview. 
Since 2005, Virgin Galactic has invested over $50 million in the creation of two spaceships, The White Night, known as SpaceShipOne, and the Virgin Mothership Eve, known as SpaceShipTwo.  Virgin Galactic tested the spacecrafts at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California on Oct. 28 and Nov. 17.
According to the Virgin Galactic website, the flights themselves last a few hours, and humans will experience only four or five minutes of weightlessness while in space and have the opportunity to look back at Earth from an outside perspective.
Launches will begin in 2011, with ticket prices around $200,000.  While its primary launch site for the commercial flights is Spaceport America, NM, Virgin Galactic will also explore launches  from the United Kingdom.
Virgin Galactic plans to work with NASA to ensure that flights meet safety requirements.  Additionally, in 2007, NASA signed a press release with Virgin Galactic, promising to explore future collaboration for space travel.
Virgin Galactic promises intricate and state-of-the-art technologies that allow for a greater intake of fuel, safer hybrid rockets within the plane, and air-launches from a separate aircraft at 50,000 feet, rather than traditional ground launches.  According to its website, virgingalactic.com, Virgin Galactic hopes to end fears of space travel and to encourage more citizens to embrace the opportunities space travel can bring through its new and safe technologies.