Aabar Investments takes 32 percent stake in Virgin Galactic, we're still not cool enough to go to space
By Laura June 
posted Jul 28th 2009 8:06PM
posted Jul 28th 2009 8:06PM
United Arab Emirates company Aabar Investments and today announced that it would be taking a 32 percent stake in Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism venture, a deal worth about $280 million dollars. Though the deal has yet to be approved by US regulatory agencies, Aabar, which is an investment vehicle for Abu Dhabi's government, said that it plans to build a spaceport in the capital city, and that it's committed an addition $100 million to fund satellite launch capabilites. The deal gives Aabar the regional rights to host tourism as well as scientific research flights. When asked how they felt about having Richard Branson hanging around their city, reps from Aabar said, "King Crazy? We love that guy!"
[Image credit: David Schrubbe]
[Image credit: David Schrubbe]
I want a restaurant n space, Futurama style.
in*
If we got everyone who has an iPhone to move to the Pre on Sprint then we would have enough money to build a Duncan Donuts... IN SPACE
She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro
Why is OJ Simpson shaking that old lady's hand?
@Cee Jay i lol'd
branson will flood their streets with his high price expensive whores and booze
I will only pay for one if they have three titties.
High priced and expensive?!?! ohhhhh....
lets hope they aren't as smart as you?
You guys know SpaceX got a satellite up two weeks ago guys? Just sayin'....
"You guys know SpaceX got a satellite up two weeks ago guys? Just sayin'...."
They certainly did. Surprised me too, they are all systems go. Love SpaceX. Let's rock, private Space entrepenuers!
yep. SpaceX is basically going to replace the shuttle until NASA gets project Constellation off the ground, which is from 2010 till about 2016.
cool, i didn't know that :)
Ahhhhh!!! Grammar check!!!!
Branson scares me. I don't know why.
This dude and Aphex Twin need to do a tour together.
If I were as rich as branson, I would buy my own island and make myself king.
One Love - He has his own island...
http://www.neckerisland.com/
when i saw Branson i immediately thought of zaphod beeblebrox from hitchhikers guide (2005 edition)
http://www.bibi.org/box/2005/abril/Vote_Beeblebrox.jpg
and he's building spaceships... wait.. WTF!
hq:
I KNEW I saw him somewhere!
...I stand corrected. lol!
Lose the apostrophe in the headline
lrn2english
Good plan, give arabs access to space-planes.
LOLOLOL! Sad but true!
you sir are a douche nozzle!
@calgaryalta, wwhat doesnt even deserve a two-word negative title. simply "douche" will suffice
Now I'm very surprised by you. You have managed to say some really intelligent things over time and then you come with this. Come on man, I've been shot at by Arabs (and I'm pretty sure a Persian or two) and even I'm not that bigoted.
Honestly the Arabs in this particular story only care about two things, money and power (which could be argued as the same thing but that is another discussion). UAE, the Saudis, Quatar... all those countries right there are the same, it is all about some cash. Truth be told it is rather smart. Virgin and these guys want to get a jump on the sub-orbital transpo game.
Maybe the totally insignificant rest of the world should take away internet access from America, as we can't trust them not to make stupid comments.
OMG what is Wwhat thinking? how can he insult arabs like that with absolutely no basis to do so whatsoever.
Look up 'islam' on the internet, and look up 'human rights issues in UAE' while you are at it to see who you are defending.
and to Col. Readily Apparent specifically, look up where all the suicide bombers in iraq came from too, spoiler alert: saudi arabia predominantly (as is the bin laden family), money alone eh.
Look up how tightly religion i enforced, look up how much their internet is censored, look up how women are viewed, see if it's as equals..
Yeah then call me a bigot, have fun convincing yourself, use powerful drugs if need be.
But you are right, they love money too, and gold, I guess that makes them swell folks for some people.
How about you look up which is the only country to ever use a nuke on civilians. How about who started the World Wars?
Based on that, and your logic (by which I ignore everything positive about them), I must deduce that all white people are war mongering barbarians.
@ 10minutehobo - well, it was either invade Japan and lose hundreds of thousands of our troops, and who knows how high the civilian casualties would end up being (pretty sure quite a few would have fought to defend their home, wouldn't you?), or drop a bomb and ask them to surrender... and then a second one when they refused, which seemed to have done the trick. You saying a bunch of Islamic terrorists wouldn't kill millions if they had access to nukes? Your detachment from reality is pitiful.
Oh no doubt, white people are nasty, they play that they are all civilised but when you get them going they are the worse people imaginable, of the races (if you wish to separate the world population according to such criteria).
That doesn't change that arabs have religious fanatics, who are now known to use planes and cars and other publicly available means against the people not of their religion.
Not that I think your average UAE businessman or sheik or what have you will attack people left and right though, that would be a silly thought.
And I was just making a light general remark, I think it makes more sense to be wary of arab nations with strong religious sentiment having access to space planes and what not than your grandma to having a toenail clipper on a normal plane, and she's not allowed is she, so in that light how bad/weird was my statement really?
And to aaron, the arabs had access to WMD, gas and nerve agents and what not for many decades, and very very seldomly used them, much less than the west in fact, plus pakistan has had nukes for a while now and didn't use them did they, there's both the balance of power, you use them you might receive some back, and the general attitude, there are fanatics that would not think about killing so many, but they don't have the coherence to be leaders, and yeah there are leaders who shout they will/would, but that's a typical arab thing too, they like to shout and boast more than to act, and wear fancy uniforms more than getting in a pool of blood, not that there aren't those, but by-and-large it might be going overboard when we go nuts with apprehension.
@Wwhat
Yeah, I'm familiar with those facts. I didn't say the Saudis were a great government, just in general the tone of what you were saying was wrong. That is what I fundamentally disagree with. It is just a little unfair to just say Arabs don't deserve access to space based on recent history. Yeah some of these governments have ties to extremists groups and such, but I think a general attack on the people may be just a little unwarranted. It is also unfair to attack Islam as well, since at it's basis it is a religion of peace. People do dumb things in the name of God all the time and we (western nations) have had our share of them. If you don't trust the UAE or any of those governments, that is fine. I just ask to you clarify what you say and not continue this tone we keep setting about Arabs somehow all being terrorists. As long as we perpetuate that kind of thing, the bad guys are the ones winning the fight.
OK your last comment I can agree with there.
Aaron: Or maybe (this is a wild idea, I'm sure back then the USA didn't have the smarts or the technology to do this), just maybe, they could have nuked the military camps/headquarters/stations/whatever instead of destroying two entire cities. You know, like what Japan did? But darn those smart Japs, we dun have no gundams like dem.
Wwhat: It's "light general remarks" like that that sow the seeds of mistrust that grow into and propagate the vicious circle of hate.
Anyway, what do you think terrorists would do with a space plane if they got their hands on one? Burn up in the stratosphere above the land of freedom?
Sorry but that "islam is a religion of peace" so clearly identifies you as one that succumbed to propagandistic nonsense and has turned into a mouthpiece, it's sad.
And no I'm not going to walk on eggs because some arabs might get offended, they have always disrespected the non islamic people the islamic world, and I'm not going to pretend they are so jolly jolly good because they sit on oil or because some propaganda minister decided it helped the christian agenda to suck up to other religions.
They offend me more than I could ever offend them, the islamics I mean, not the arabs since that's just a region, I'm sure there are many sensible and atheist people there too although they can't speak out without having their throat cut and subsequently receive a 90 year prison term on their remains.
P.S. the christians offend me too, specifically the ones that are in office and make christian based rules.
Anyway there you have it, my sentiments, in a free speech area, I hope at least, although obviously that's going slowly but steadily backwards (with area I mean the west, not engadget who can do what they want largely on their own turf and delete my posts if so inclined, although then I'd call them nazi and names possibly :)
I worry about the steadily increasing amount of wealth and power in the UAE, they are quickly becoming a super power in economics, but do not live by the same guiding principles that promote equality, peace, and prosperity.
I guess it does not matter wether it is us or them as long as it is someone, we reap what we sow, and we have sowed very little for this fall.
Space will eventually be our last salvation if we want our species to survive, planets only last so long.
"islamics"
....
Right, you definitely know what you're talking about...
Best you can come up with 10minutehobo? Then I guess I made my point thoroughly.
OK i'll fix the one flaw: islamites*
There, might be archaic but it's english.
Concluding comment @engadget: I'm sorry it got so political and confrontational on a tech blog.
That's wrong again, but meh.
"United Arab Emirates company Aabar Investments and today", plus the error in the title... Is it me or have standards been slipping recently?
Touchscreen keyboards with 'autocorrect'?
Send Paul Chapel to space and leave him there. Thank you.
Branson reminds me of someone you might see on Americas Most Wanted for eating small children...
Branson IS the ShamWow! guy. I knew it.
"and that it's committed an addition $100 million to fund satellite launch capabilites"
that's funny, I thought you could just through the satellite from the top of the Burj Dubai, and it will go into orbit