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Calgary Gala Auction Offers Flight To Outer Space

Calgary Auction Item Is Out Of This World
DreamPictures via Getty Images

Always wanted to travel to space, but never figured out how to book your seat?

If you attend a Calgary auction next month with enough cash, you could find yourself orbiting the earth.

The David Foster Foundation, a charity group that supports families during their children's organ transplants, has an out-of-this world trip up for auction at their September Miracle Gala and Concert.

The lucky winner will claim a seat alongside a three-time space shuttle astronaut aboard a XCOR Lynx rocket-powered spacecraft.

According to Metro Calgary, the owners of the XCOR Lynx rocket plane, which is currently undergoing test flights, donated the trip for when its space tourism program officially begins.

(A model of the Xcor Lynx aerospace rocket ship is shown during a news conference Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in Beverly Hills, Calif. AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A press release from the foundation says every flight includes "all the phases of flight, from a boost to supersonic speeds in sixty seconds, to weightlessness. Instead of being seated in back as a passenger, winning bidders will view Earth from space sitting right next to [the] Commander."

“It is a truly out-of-this-world auction item,” said Michael Ravenhill, the foundation’s chief executive, told Metro Calgary.

Normally, a trip on the XCOR Lynx starts at $95,000, but Ravenhill told the Times Colonist he expects bids for the flight to top $200,000 and to come from all over the world.

A single ticket to the gala costs $1,500 or tables can be purchased for $15,000-25,000.

Those who cannot attend the gala can register their bids remotely via telephone.

The Sept. 27 gala at Calgary's WestJet headquarters will feature a replica of the aircraft.

For more information, visit the foundation's website.

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