This summer an Emirati investment firm secured exclusive rights to what may be the next wave in adventure tourism and could place it on the cutting edge of scientific research. On July 28, Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments signed a $280 million deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, gaining a 32 percent stake in what is now a $900 million foray into the great unknown. Virgin Galactic, which vows to be the “world’s first commercial spaceline,” had been shopping for an outside investor for six months when it signed with Aabar at the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Branson and Aabar CEO Mohamed Badawy al-Husseiny signed the deal following Branson’s inaugural flight in Virgin’s jet-powered carrier aircraft which will be used to launch the spacecraft. “This transaction carries multiple potential for the creation of an exceptional platform for space infrastructure, such as research labs, space centre[s] for commercial travel and
