RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Karen Kilyk of Covington International Travel in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Virtuoso® travel network, is among only 50 U.S. travel advisors invited to attend the world premier of SpaceShipTwo, the space vehicle developed by Scaled Composites to take private passengers to space. (Virtuoso is the exclusive retail travel agency network for Virgin Galactic throughout the Americas.) This exclusive event hosted by Virgin Founder and Chairman Sir Richard Branson and world renowned aircraft designer Burt Rutan, will take place in Mojave, CA on December 7, 2009.

Karen Kilyk is one of only 50 travel consultants in the United States to have been hand-selected as a Virgin Galactic Accredited Space Agent (ASA), and will undergo intensive product training with Virgin Galactic ensuring she has the expert knowledge to guide prospective space customers.

Virgin Galactic's unveiling of SpaceShipTwo marks the next critical step in bringing space tourism to the general public, a privilege that has been limited to astronauts and those with the means to spend $20 million for a flight. Together with Virgin Galactic, 'Accredited Space Agents' are poised to turn the dream of going to space into a reality for their clients. The once-in-a-lifetime experience includes Astronaut training, 'G force" acclimatization and a sensational spaceflight lasting over two hours. With the comparatively lower price of US$200,000, Kilyk is one of the few travel advisors in the world with the ability to attend this groundbreaking event and accept deposits for this once-in-a-lifetime journey.

Based on the design of SpaceShipOne, the historic vehicle that completed three successful spaceflights in 2004, thus claiming the $10 million Ansari X-Prize, SpaceShipTwo is the next generation of spacecraft built for the specific purpose of taking passengers into suborbital space. Following SpaceShipTwo's unveiling in December 2009, this revolutionary spacecraft will immediately embark on an extensive test flight regime. Already, approximately 300 people from around the world have paid nearly $40 million in deposits to guarantee an early seat reservation.

About Covington International Travel

Based in Glen Allen, Covington International Travel is a woman-owned, full service travel management company serving customers' travel needs throughout the U.S. since 1967. In addition to corporate travel, Covington provides meeting management, incentive programs and vacation travel. Covington is also regarded as one of the premier Virtuoso agencies in the U.S. for luxury vacation travel. The staff includes 95 seasoned experts in three Virginia locations: Richmond, suburban Richmond (Glen Allen) and Charlottesville. For more information regarding Covington International Travel, please visit www.covingtontravel.com.

SOURCE Covington International Travel

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