In the next few years various companies will be offering commercial flights into Space. Tickets will cost around $200,000 , give or take. For those with the necessary cosmic-credits, the lifetime dream of strapping in, lifting off and gazing down at our lovely planet for a few moments, is going to be a reality.For the rest of us, there’s another option. A start-up called I Dream of Space has been selling posters at $10 each, which come with a 25,000-to-one chance lottery ticket to win one seat on a sub-orbital flight.Now, this would be only be of vague interest to IGN, but for one additional factor. I Dream of Space has teamed up with the very cool space-exploration PC game Kerbal Space Program The contest requires that entrants send in their best screenshots from within the game.I Dream of Space’s Reuben Metcalfe tells IGN, “It’s a way of us getting the word out that there is a way for just about anyone to fulfil a lifetime’s dream, and go to space.” I Dream of Space has only sold a few hundred tickets so far, but Metcalfe says plenty of entries are coming in through the KSP promotion. “We don’t have a lot of budget to spend on expensive marketing and promotions, so this is a good way to reach people who are already interested in space exploration.”The story of Kerbal Space Program is itself an exploration into the unknown. Mexican developer Squad launched an early alpha of the game two years ago, and sales have funded further development, with a final product launch loosely scheduled for some time later this year. In its current form, it’s become a sophisticated space-program sandbox, in which players can pull together rocket-ships in order to battle against gravity and launch their exploration programs. KSP takes place in a solar system not unlike our own, except inhabited by cute alien creatures called Kerbals. Physics works in much the same way as in our universe, with minor alterations to do with the interaction of planets and moons with one another. (For those moved by such phenomena, a visit to KSP’s forums is recommended.)According to Squad’s executive producer Adrian Goya, the game is currently attracting 20,000 players a day. A YouTube search finds no shortage of videos showing footage of fledging KSP flights into space, many of which end in disaster. The game is like SimCity , except with rockets and physics, engineering and 3D orbital schematics. Part of the KSP's charm is pulling together a load of components and seeing how far they form a working space-ship, or alternatively a moment of physics-hilarity as the player's creation tosses, turns and crashes to the ground. KSP’s fans range from eight-year-olds migrating from LEGO, to engineering nerds seeking to recreate the Apollo program.It's become a feature-packed tool but one that also offers tutorials and walkthroughs. The final game will include a career-mode that walks noobs through a space-program, from simple first rockets to entire moon-bases.Adrian Goya tells IGN, “Our fans range from kids who love to send us drawings of their space ships, to teams of guys who really get into the planning and engineering. It’s great for space nerds, but also for anyone who wants to have some fun with rockets.” For more information go to the KSP forums

Colin Campbell is a regular space cadet. Join him on a journey to the stars via Twitter @colincampbellx or right here on IGN