Commercial space transportation company SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, is auctioning off a private tour of its rocket and spacecraft factory in Hawthorne, California, for a group of up to 10 people.

Announced on SpaceX's page on Charitybuzz.com, the tour package promises the highest bidder a private walk-through of what the company's President and COO Gwynne Shotwell describes as "the world's largest facility developing the complete design, fabrication and assembly of rockets, engines and spacecraft."

During the visit, according to the company's posting at the auction site, "you will see Falcon 9 rockets being assembled, Merlin engines being constructed, Dragon spacecraft in production and even a Dragon that has returned from space!"

Following the tour, guests will have a chance to meet Shotwell in person.

Proceeds raised by the auction will go to the international nonprofit Women in Technology Education Foundation, which works to encourage girls and women to pursue careers in technology-related fields.

According to a post at the group's Website, "a digital divide still exists between girls and boys. Unless girls are encouraged at a very early age and on an ongoing basis to learn and enjoy mathematics, the sciences, engineering, and technology, they lag behind boys in pursuing these subjects."

Data from the 2009 National Center for Women & Information Technology Scorecard showed that:

  • In 2009, 56 percent of the students taking AP tests were girls, yet only 18 percent of the students taking the computer science exam were female;
  • Between 2000 and 2008, there was a 79 percent decline in the number of incoming undergraduate women interested in majoring in computer science;
  • In 2009, 57 percent of students graduating from college were women, yet only 18 percent of the students graduating with a computer science degree were female;
  • The percentage of professional women in the computer science workforce has been declining over the past decade from a high of almost 30 percent in 2000 to less than 25 percent in 2009.

Bidding for the private tour of the SpaceX headquarters/development complex is now open at Charitybuzz and will close June 19.