Abu Dhabi group backs Branson’s space tourism push

An Abu Dhabi state-linked investment company is planning to buy a 32 per cent stake in Virgin Galactic, the commercial space venture of British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, in the latest sign of the oil-rich emirate’s rising ambitions.

Aabar Investments will pay $280m for the holding in the company, which was launched in 2004 and aims to start flying private passengers to space within two years at a cost of $200,000 per ticket.

The Abu Dhabi group also plans to invest an extra $100m to help pay for research that would give Virgin Galactic the option of launching small satellites from unmanned rockets.

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