In what will certainly go down as the ultimate Comic-Con giveaway, Warner Bros. Television awarded one lucky fan of The Big Bang Theory a truly out-of-this-world trip...INTO SPACE aboard XCOR Aerospace's Lynx RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicle) at the show's panel session in Hall H at Comic-Con: International San Diego today, Friday, July 13, 2012.

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"The The Big Bang Theory Season 5 finale episode proved to be an unexpectedly emotional experience for all of us working on the show. The idea that one man's journey into space had the power to bond his friends together was somehow deeply touching," said co-creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre. "And now, everyone - cast, crew and the millions of fans of the show - can gather together and experience that same wonderful bond when we watch one lucky fan take an actual trip into space, courtesy of XCOR. We are so proud and grateful to be part of this adventure: The Big Bang Theory, boldly going where no sitcom has gone before!"

"I guess you can say we are over the moon that we were able to give away a trip to space to a The Big Bang Theory fan," chuckled Lisa Gregorian, Chief Marketing Officer, Warner Bros. Television Group. "We're so incredibly grateful to our fans for all their support and the love the show has received over the past five Cons. We wanted to deliver something special and, as fans ourselves, we thought taking a trip to space like Howard Wolowitz would be amazing and literally out of this world."

"We couldn't be more excited to be working with Warner Bros. Television and The Big Bang Theory to give this amazing opportunity to one of the show's biggest fans," said Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer, XCOR. "At XCOR, we're all about dreaming big and making the seemingly impossible a reality, and it's so gratifying to work with partners with similar vision. As fans of The Big Bang Theory ourselves, how could we not say 'yes' when we got the call?"

Here's the backstory:

In The Big Bang Theory Season 5 finale, Caltech engineer Howard Wolowitz (series star Simon Helberg) is launched into space aboard a Russian Soyuz space capsule.

During the show's Comic-Con panel session, Simon Helberg was asked whether he would ever entertain a visit to space. When XCOR's Searfoss, in a surprise appearance, offered the very real opportunity to actually take a trip outside the earth's atmosphere on their suborbital spacecraft, series co-creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre suggested it be given to one of the show's fans in attendance.

The lucky fan holding the golden ticket was Mercedes Becerra of Paso Robles, Calif.

Simulation video of the XCOR Lynx spaceflight can be found here: CLICK HERE

For the first time ever, The Big Bang Theory Comic-Con panel was held in Hall H. Executive producers Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Steven Molaro joined stars Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons (via satellite), Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch for a lively Q&A session with fans. Returning September 27, The Big Bang Theory Season 6 airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS. Warner Home Video will release The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray on Blu-ray™ and DVD September 11.