Abu Dhabi buys into Space Tourism
The Mideast investment fund with the biggest stake in Mercedes-Benz's parent said on Tuesday it will pay about $US280 million ($A340.2 million) to buy nearly a third of commercial space travel startup Virgin Galactic.
The buy-in by Aabar Investments of Abu Dhabi gives British billionaire Sir Richard Branson's space tourism venture a big financial kickstart at a time when many funding sources have dried up because of the global recession. It also provides the oil-rich Persian Gulf sheikdom a chance to acquire space flight capability of its own.
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