Space Adventures is also planning to build commercial spaceports near Dubai and in Singapore.

CNN: Opening the space frontier, one tourist at a time

Branson is planning to build one of three spaceports - the other two in America and Australasia - in either Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi or Saudi Arabia.

BBC: Branson makes offer to Brawn GP

Within a couple years, Mealling expects the country's spaceports to be supporting one or two commercial spaceflights per day, a daunting prospect for launch ranges that currently handle a flight about every other month.

MSN: Win a Free Trip to Space

Similar commercial spaceports have been set up in New Mexico, where Virgin Galactic, an offshoot of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, plans to fly a fleet of suborbital passenger spaceships, as well as Alaska, Virginia and California.

MSN: Florida wants NASA land for commercial spaceport