Entertainment Editor

You may not be able to follow in the lunar footsteps of Neil Armstrong and walk on the moon, but if you have the cash, within the next two years you, too, can become a space traveler.

For $200,000, Virgin Galactic can fly you into space from Spaceport America in New Mexico and accredited space agent Beverly Rother will book your reservation.

Rother, who works for Forest Travel in South Florida, is one of only 76 people in the United States authorized to sell space tickets on the VSS Enterprise. Rother will be a guest speaker Saturday at the Dark Sky Festival at Harmony.

Rother witnessed the unveiling of the Enterprise last December in the Mojave Desert in California, along with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

“It is exciting,” Rother said. “The age of space tourism is here.”

Agents have already sold more than 300 seats for future flights of the Enterprise, Rother said, and while no exact timetable has been set for the sub-orbital flights, Virgin Galactic hopes to begin offering the flights within the next 12 to 24 months.

Rother is confident space travel for tourists will soon be a reality, and at age 55, she too plans on being among those who make that flight into space.

Except for the price tag, which is much less than the $20 million to $35 million charged by the Russian Space Agency aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, Virgin Galactic is offering space travel for everyone.

There are not any great physical requirements, she said, adding that 90 percent of the population will be able to fly into space.

The Enterprise will carry a second spaceship to a height of about 50,000 feet where the second ship’s own rockets will take its two pilots and paying guests into sub-orbit.

Plans call for the spaceship to fly to a height of about 60 miles. The spacecraft also will reach speeds of about Mach 3 (2,304 mph).

The entire trip is estimated to be less than three hours, Rother said, but during that time, space travelers will experience six minutes of weightlessness, as well as getting a spectacular view of the Earth and space.

The flight package also includes some training on the ground, she said.

The project is the work of a company founded by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, which is building a fleet of commercial spaceships and launch aircraft. The group hopes to make widespread space travel a reality.

If you are ready to book your place in space now, go to http://www.virgingalactic.com/booking or you can book directly with Rother at Forest Travel Agency at brother@ foresttravel.com or call 305 932-5560, Ext. 145.

Rother is one of many guest speakers at Saturday's Dark Sky Festival in Harmony.

This is the seventh year for the popular event, which will be from 6 to 11 p.m. at Harmony Town Square.

The Dark Sky Festival is free and features astronomers and space enthusiasts with telescopes for public viewing, live music, workshops and panel discussions on astronomy and related topics, science exhibits and demonstrations, a children's play area and more.

The Dark Sky Festival was organized to help promote dark skies, discourage light pollution and encourage the use of lighting that is protective of the skies for better stargazing.