Abu Dhabi spaceport could be up and running by 2016
Virgin Galactic could be transporting fee-paying astronaut tourists into near space from its Abu Dhabi spaceport in around two-three years time. That was the message from Steve Landeene, Virgin Galactic's Chief Advisor, Abu Dhabi Spaceport, when talking to Arabian Aerospace at this year's Global Space and Satellite Forum. Landeene, who was Virgin's director at Spaceport America from 2009 to 2010, said that proposals for the Middle Eastern spaceport in the emirate have been put forward to both the Virgin Galactic board and financial backer Aabar Investments. He added that it is conceivable MENA-based missions could start one or two years after Virgin starts its commercial activities out of New Mexico, USA. Read more
Winning spaceport poster may mean career lift-off for Emirati
Mariam Al Hammadi is set to become the first of many Emirati students to benefit from the upcoming Virgin Galactic spaceport in the capital. Ms Al Hammadi, a third year graphic design student at Zayed University, won a competition earlier this year to design a poster telling the story of Abu Dhabi becoming the second spaceport, following on from the New Mexico base that opened last year. Read more
Former Spaceport America chief appointed to lead vision and planning for Virgin Galactic space flights from Abu Dhabi.
Virgin Galactic LLC ("Virgin Galactic"), part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, and Aabar Investments PJS ("Aabar") today announced that they had appointed Steve Landeene to the role of Chief Advisor, Spaceport Abu Dhabi. Between 2007 and 2010, Landeene was Executive Director of Spaceport America in New Mexico and oversaw the development of Virgin Galactic's operational hub and the world's first purpose built commercial spaceport. Read more