The first public flight to outer space will be broadcast live on NBC’s Today Show next year, Virgin Galactic and NBC announced today.

The SpaceShipTwo is currently being built in the California desert and is expected to be ready for departure next August if all goes according to plan. Richard Branson, who is CEO of the Virgin mega company, and his two children will be three of the six passengers on board the flight. The other three passengers are yet to be revealed. Two pilots will accompany them.

In addition to the launch itself, NBC will be running segments about Virgin Galactic’s development as it inches closer to completion.

“Any milestone that happens between now and the launch will be put exclusively on our platforms. There’s just a billion stories, and we’ll have access to all of them,” NBC said in a statement.

Said Branson, “In this first chapter of commercial space travel, we will help make space accessible and inspire countless more people to join us in the pursuit of space exploration and science innovation.”

Virgin Galactic will essentially be the first airline to outer space. Tickets cost $250,000, and over the past year we’ve heard about celebrities like Justin Bieber and Lance Bass signing up to take one of the inaugural flights. Earlier this week, Lady Gaga announced that she plans to perform in outer space. Chances are she’ll be getting to the outside world via Virgin.

Safety is obviously a key priority, so there’s a good chance that the August launch date could be pushed back. Whenever the inaugural flight takes place, the live broadcast will go down in history as one of television’s most memorable live events.

You can learn more about Virgin Galactic on their official website.