Land Rover has become the first global sponsor of Virgin Galactic.

The company revealed the long-term tie-up with the car maker that will see it benefit from the worldwide media attention around what will be the first commercial flight into space later this year.

Land Rover expects the launch to help cement its brand positioning around adventure, innovation and exploration as it looks to build on global sales success in 2013.

Land Rover will create co-branded TV, outdoor and digital content and could also appear throughout Virgin Galactic’s 'Space Race' reality series, where fans compete to win a free ride on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.

Neil Ross Russell, head of brand partnerships at Virgin Galactic told Marketing Week the Land Rover deal is the start of its efforts to recruit partners capable of fuelling the operation of the business. While there are an unlimited number of sponsorship slots available, the company is on the hunt for clothing, technology, timing and insurance partners.

Virgin hopes activity generates long-term interest among less affluent consumers unable to afford the £149,000 cost of the service.

Virgin Galactic in flight