“Virgin Galactic's experimental spaceship broke apart in flight over California's Mojave Desert after a device to slow the craft's descent prematurely deployed, federal investigators said Sunday. National Transportation Safety Board Acting Chairman Christopher Hart said that while no cause for Friday's crash of SpaceShipTwo has been determined, investigators found the “feathering” system – which rotates the tail to create drag – was activated before the craft reached the appropriate speed. The system requires a two-step process to deploy. The co-pilot unlocked the system but Hart said the second step occurred “without being commanded”. “What we know is that after it was unlocked, the feathers moved into the deploy position and two seconds later we saw disintegration” Hart said. The investigation is months from being completed and pilot error, mechanical failure, the design and whether there was pressure to continue testing are among many things being looked at, Hart said. “We are not edging toward anything, we're not ruling anything out”, Hart said. “We are looking at all these issues to determine the root cause of this accident”.
The co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39, was killed. Peter Siebold, 43, who piloted the mission, parachuted to the ground and is receiving treatments at a hospital for serious injuries. Virgin Galactic – owned by billion Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi – plans to fly passengers to altitudes more than 62 miles above Earth. The company sells seats on each prospective journey for $250,000. Branson had hoped to begin flights next year but said Saturday that the project won't resume until the cause of the accident is determined and the problems fixed. Hart said a review of footage from a camera mounted to the ceiling of the cockpit shows the co-pilot moving the feathering lever to the unlock position. The feathering is a feature unique to the craft to help it slow as it re-enters the atmosphere. After being unlocked, a lever must be pulled to rotate the tail section toward a nearly vertical position to act as a rudder. After decelerating, the pilots reconfigure the tail section to its normal position so the craft can glide to Earth. Hart said the feathers activated at Mach 1.0, the speed of sound or 760 mph. They shouldn't have deployed until the craft had at least reached a speed of Mach 1.4, or more than 1,000 mph.
SpaceShipTwo tore apart Friday about 11 seconds after it detached from the underside of its jet-powered mother ship and fired its rocket engine for the test flight. Initial speculation was that an explosion occurred but Hart said the fuel and oxidizer tanks and rocket engine were found and showed no sign of being burned or breached. SpaceShipTwo has been under development for years and, like all space projects, has suffered setbacks. In 2007, an explosion killed three people on the ground and critically injured three others during a ground test in the development of a rocket engine. Prior to Hart's announcement, Geoff Daly, an engineer who worked on the space shuttle, renewed criticism of Virgin Galactic's use of nitrous oxide to power the ship. The nitrous oxide is used with fuel to provide propulsion. Engineers had recently changed the fuel system, switching from a rubber-based fuel to one that used plastics. The new fuel had been tested on the ground but not in flight until Friday. In a June 2013 letter, Daly asked the FAA to put a hold on an experimental flight permit for SpaceShipTwo to ensure the safety of personnel on the ground and in the spacecraft. The FAA said it would look into his complaint, according to memos posted online, but Daly said no flights of SpaceShipTwo were halted. The loss of SpaceShipTwo was the second fiery setback for commercial space travel in less than a week. On Tuesday, an unmanned commercial supply rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded moments after liftoff in Virginia”. – Brian Melley via The Associated Press
The co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39, was killed. Peter Siebold, 43, who piloted the mission, parachuted to the ground and is receiving treatments at a hospital for serious injuries. Virgin Galactic – owned by billion Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi – plans to fly passengers to altitudes more than 62 miles above Earth. The company sells seats on each prospective journey for $250,000. Branson had hoped to begin flights next year but said Saturday that the project won't resume until the cause of the accident is determined and the problems fixed. Hart said a review of footage from a camera mounted to the ceiling of the cockpit shows the co-pilot moving the feathering lever to the unlock position. The feathering is a feature unique to the craft to help it slow as it re-enters the atmosphere. After being unlocked, a lever must be pulled to rotate the tail section toward a nearly vertical position to act as a rudder. After decelerating, the pilots reconfigure the tail section to its normal position so the craft can glide to Earth. Hart said the feathers activated at Mach 1.0, the speed of sound or 760 mph. They shouldn't have deployed until the craft had at least reached a speed of Mach 1.4, or more than 1,000 mph.
SpaceShipTwo tore apart Friday about 11 seconds after it detached from the underside of its jet-powered mother ship and fired its rocket engine for the test flight. Initial speculation was that an explosion occurred but Hart said the fuel and oxidizer tanks and rocket engine were found and showed no sign of being burned or breached. SpaceShipTwo has been under development for years and, like all space projects, has suffered setbacks. In 2007, an explosion killed three people on the ground and critically injured three others during a ground test in the development of a rocket engine. Prior to Hart's announcement, Geoff Daly, an engineer who worked on the space shuttle, renewed criticism of Virgin Galactic's use of nitrous oxide to power the ship. The nitrous oxide is used with fuel to provide propulsion. Engineers had recently changed the fuel system, switching from a rubber-based fuel to one that used plastics. The new fuel had been tested on the ground but not in flight until Friday. In a June 2013 letter, Daly asked the FAA to put a hold on an experimental flight permit for SpaceShipTwo to ensure the safety of personnel on the ground and in the spacecraft. The FAA said it would look into his complaint, according to memos posted online, but Daly said no flights of SpaceShipTwo were halted. The loss of SpaceShipTwo was the second fiery setback for commercial space travel in less than a week. On Tuesday, an unmanned commercial supply rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded moments after liftoff in Virginia”. – Brian Melley via The Associated Press
Sheriffs' deputies look at wreckage from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California November 2, 2014. A suborbital passenger spaceship being developed by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company crashed during a test flight on Friday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, killing one crew member and seriously injuring the other, officials said. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
Investigators from the NTSB and Scale Composites inspect wreckage from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
Sheriff's deputies look at a piece of debris near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
A small bit of wreckage from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo lies in the desert near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
A piece of wreckage from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo lies by a road near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
Investigators pick up wreckage of the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo along a railroad track near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
The Virgin Galactic hanger is seen at Mojave airport in Mojave, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
Orange flags mark small pieces of wreckage along a railroad track from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
Investigators from the NTSB and Scale Composites inspect wreckage at one of the debris fields of the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
Investigators pick up pieces of wreckage along a railroad track from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)
A piece of debris is seen near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California, on November 2, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
03 Nov 2014 12:33:00,
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