On October 26, Virgin Galactic, LLC (Virgin Galactic) announced that The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Virgin Group Ltd. (Virgin Group) signed an MOU pursuant to which PIF plans to invest approximately $1b in Virgin Group’s portfolio of commercial space companies, known as Galactic Ventures, with an option to invest an additional $480m in the future. Upon closing, PIF will hold a significant equity stake in each of the three companies that comprise Galactic Ventures – Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company and Virgin Orbit – with Virgin Group remaining as the majority shareholder. Virgin Galactic provides commercial human spaceflight services, The Spaceship Company manufactures spacecraft and Virgin Orbit performs launch services. Read more related news in Space Business Review October 2017.
