Watch this space

Talk about a long-haul flight - being unable to fly direct and entering the world of connecting flights is always something of an annoyance, but when your destination is outer space it is even harder to stomach - where on earth would you stop off en -route to the stars?..

Well, Abu Dhabi of all places. A local investment company has done a deal in which it will take a stake in the world's first commercial space travel operator, meaning that well-heeled tourists will be able to literally reach for the stars.

Aabar Investments said it plans to build a space port in Abu Dhabi after agreeing to buy a 32 per cent stake in the holding company of Virgin Galactic for £169 million.

The deal was done on the grounds of the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture fly-in event held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

WhiteKnightTwo, the specially designed aircraft that will carry Virgin Galactic's spacecraft to high altitude and then launch it, had flown to the EAA convention and formed a suitable backdrop for the signing ceremony.

The company plans to create a small satellite launch facility and will the gain exclusive regional rights to host Virgin Galactic tourism and scientific research space flights.

Until now, Virgin Galactic has been fully owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, was set up in 2004 to provide commercial space travel and the project is in its final stages with the test flight programme underway.

More than 300 people from all over the world have paid £120,000 each to book a seat onone of the flights into space.

The reusable vehicle that WhiteKnightTwo will ferry to the edge of space is known as SpaceShipTwo.

Virgin Galactic hopes to begin testing SpaceShipTwo by the end of this year. The spacecraft can hold two crew members and six passengers, all of whom will be able to leave their seats and experience zero gravity while enjoying views of Earth and space.

Picture by nasa