Several Arab businessmen from the United Arab Emirates have recently expressed interest in flying into outerspace. The requests came after plans were revealed by the Virgin Group, which runs Virgin Airways, to offer civilian flights into space in the near future at the mere cost of $200,000 per person.
Richard Branson, head of the Virgin Group, said that "Space is going to be big business for us. I already have a number of cards from Arabs I have met since I have been here who want to go into space," reported Business Report.
He also said that space travel was the future, and that he anticipated that the Virgin Group "will be making the first United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut."
According to Branson, within the next two and a half years alone, five spaceships will be built by the Virgin Group, which recently launched a new Virgin Atlantic flight route between London and Dubai.
The cost of a flight into space will reportedly be $200 000 dollars, assuming that the flight of eight people is full. "We will be taking eight people on each flight," Branson told reporters.
He added that several space stations would be set up around the world, the first of which would be in the United States, though others could likely be located in the Middle East.
We "will be setting up space stations around the world. The first one in the US."
"We have been approached by a number of rulers from the region who would like it built in their country," Branson added.
He stressed that the construction of a Middle East station would depend on approval from US authorities to export such technology.
While on his visit, Branson also discussed the development of cellulosic ethanol, a more environment-friendly replacement of petrol. "I think we are going to be able to produce it competitively to normal oil, and it's 100 percent environmentally friendly so it is has the beneficial effect of stopping global warming. When you consume 700 million gallons of fuel a year, as the Virgin Atlantic does, you want to do something."
"We are going to call the group Virgin Fuels. We're just working on the final parts [of the plan], but will begin constructing a first plant within the next 12 months," he added.
The new fuel will reportedly be used for both terrestrial, and extra-terrestrial, flight.
