MUMBAI: The network has announced that it is teaming with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and veteran TV producer Mark Burnett on ‘Space Race’, a competition where the winner gets a ride on the space liner that is expected to begin commercial flights sometime next year.

"The term  trip of a lifetime' has for once been delivered on," said NBC's president of alternative and late-night programming Paul Telegdy. "This will be a remarkable experience for anyone who has looked at the night's sky and dared to dream of space flight."

Virgin has been testing its rocket-powered space vehicle this year, with pilots reaching a height of 69,000 feet on a 5 Sept flight that landed in the Mojave Desert near Virgin Galactic's facility there. Virgin has said the goal is to begin commercial flights next year, with Branson and his family taking the first ride.

Virgin has already collected $80 million in deposits from 640 people interested in experiencing the weightlessness of space.

A TV show could be great publicity for Branson's company. Competitors, such as billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX, are also working to make commercial spaceflight a reality.

Burnett, the producer behind ‘The Voice’ and ‘Survivor’, said he has wanted for 10 years to make a show with the goal of letting an average person experience looking down on Earth from the black sky of space.

However, NBC offered no estimate on when ‘Space Race’ would air.