As everyone knows, the United Arab Emirates – a thriving federation of seven Gulf shaikhdoms -- owes its birth in 1971 and much of its subsequent growth to two exceptional men: Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi and Shaikh Rashid bin Muhammad al-Maktoum of Dubai. These two pioneering leaders have now passed into history, but the partnership they created has become the Arab world's major success story. The UAE is today a high-tech pole of trade, economic enterprise and international communications, but also of education, culture and modernity. It is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $54,000, and controls the sixth largest oil reserves. It is fortunate that the founding fathers produced sons who continued the partnership and made it fructify. For example, one of Shaikh Zayed's sons, Mansour, a leading light of Abu Dhabi, married a daughter of Muhammad bin Rashid, the present ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the Federation. Both Shaikh Muhammad and Shaikh Mansour have often captured the international headlines with their many achievements. Dubai has long been recognised as an extraordinary place – splendidly portrayed in a recently published book, ‘City of Gold', by the American writer Jim Krane. In turn, Shaikh Mansour, a ministerial aide of his half brother Shaikh Khalifa, President of Abu Dhabi, has managed to bring off a spectacular coup by venturing into space tourism in partnership with Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group and one of Britain's leading entrepreneurs. Shaikh Mansour chairs the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government. One of the many companies IPIC controls is Aabar Investments. It is this company which has agreed to buy 32 % of Virgin Galactic, Branson's commercial space venture, for $280m, and to invest a further $100m in the company for scientific and technological research. Abu Dhabi is planning to build a spaceport in the UAE – probably at Ras al-Khaimah -- the first in the Arab world. So far, seven such spaceports are being built in the United States and one in Sweden, part of the infrastructure for a suborbital space tourism industry. The deal with Virgin Galactic will give Aabar exclusive regional rights to host tourism in space, as well as giving it access to scientific research in space flights. This is perhaps the most important aspect of the agreement. No doubt, there is also the possibility of eventual military applications. Aabar chairman Khadem al-Qubaisi described the deal in these terms: ‘The significant partnership not only falls in line with Abu Dhabi's larger plans to inculcate technology research and science at a grassroots level but also complements its aim to be the international tourism capital of the region.' Shaikh Mansour is known in Britain as the majority shareholder in Manchester City Football Club – a major brand which he has vowed to lift into still great prominence. He is also known to have made a profit of close to £1.5bn by a skilful investment, during the recent banking crisis, in the shares of Barclays Bank. In Germany, Aabar has spent 1.95bn euros buying a 9.1% stake in Daimler, manufacturers of Mercedes-Benz cars – another major international brand. In California, Aabar has purchased a stake in Tesla, a manufacturer of electric cars – further evidence of Abu Dhabi's concern to diversify its assets in preparation for a post-oil economy. Inevitably, people will ask whether there is truly a future in space tourism. It has long been a dream of science fiction writers, but the reality of intergalactic travel still remains far out of reach. So far, only six ‘space tourists' have boarded a Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft for the orbital journey to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The Russian Space Agency is the only organisation in a position to offer such transport. The first passenger was an American, Dennis Tito, who spent nine days in space in 2001. He was followed by Mark Shuttleworth, a British-South African; Gregory Olsen, an American; Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American; Charles Simonyi, a Hungarian-American; and Richard Garriott, a British-American. The first three paid over $20m each for their visit to the ISS. These flights, organised by Space Adventures Ltd, an American-based company, are strictly only for billionaires or multi-millionaires. Space Adventures Ltd is so far the only company to have sent paying passengers into space. The company is said to be working on a project to take passengers around the Moon for a knock-down price of $100m per person! But ordinary mortals need not despair. Cheaper suborbital spaceflights are being planned which will carry passengers up to an altitude of about 100 kilometres – that is to say to the internationally defined boundary between Earth and space, known as the Kármán line. Such trips are expected to cost a mere $200,000 per passenger. Branson's Virgin Galactic claims to have already pre-sold nearly 200 seats for such flights. With its new Abu Dhabi partner, Virgin Galactic hopes to be the first private space-tourism company to send civilians into space on a regular basis. Amateur astronauts will require only three days training before their flight. Branson has also expressed the hope that a space hotel will be built in his lifetime. Branson's space ambitions stem from his partnership with Burt Rutan, head of a U.S. company called Scaled Composites. This is the company which designed SpaceShipOne, a craft which has already flown just beyond the 100 km altitude line. It is now designing SpaceShipTwo, known as the VSS Enterprise, which it is hoped will be able to carry passengers on regular sub-orbital flights. What will these space tourists get for their money? Well, they will experience three to six minutes of weightlessness, a spectacular view of the stars and an equally spectacular view of the curve of the Earth. Not a great deal, one might say, for such a large sum of money. Nevertheless, by its partnership with Virgin Galactic, Abu Dhabi will have a chance to place itself at the cutting edge of space technology. It is an investment in the future. Adventures such as these are beyond price.
