California Spaceship Factory Opens Doors

Sept. 19, 2011: More than 80 employees of The SpaceShip Company gather for a group photo at their new hangar facility, FAITH (final assembly integration test hangar), at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, CA. (Virgin Galactic / Mark Greenberg)

MOJAVE, California – Space tourism is closer to reality.

The $8 million Mojave Desert production plant where the world's first fleet of passenger-ready spaceships will be built has been completed and production is expected to begin at the end of the month.

The Spaceship Co. facility is a joint venture of Mojave-based Scaled Composites and British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides tells the Los Angeles Times that completion of the production facility moves Galactic closer to sending paying passengers into space. A ticket costs $200,000.

Hundreds of public officials and reporters were invited Monday to tour the giant hangar where the White Knight and SpaceShipTwo craft will be built.

Up to 200 people will work at the assembly plant.