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Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic38 posts

Virgin Galactic is a space tourism company founded by Richard Branson. Galactic was the first private company to send a vehicle, SpaceShipOne, to a height of 100km, wining the Ansari X prize. On October 31, 2014 SpaceShipTwo crashed in the Mojave desert killing one pilot and seriously injuring the other.

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2 Nov, 2015

Announces SS2 testing

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Virgin 2Branson says the second SpaceShipTwo will be ready to start testing by February 2016. SpaceShipTwo is designed to bring six passengers up to suborbital space before bringing them back down to Earth. All the building and testing of the suborbital craft is all being done in-house at Virgin Galactic, a handover that was in the works before the 2014 accident. CEO Whitesides:

I think we are in a much better place than we might have expected in the period immediately after (last year’s) accident, and that’s because our team came together, our customers stuck with us, and honestly, we believe that the vehicle itself is sound.

While Branson is not giving a firm date for the inaugural flight of SpaceShipTwo — with himself and his family among the passengers — he believes the company is on the right track.

We’ll be unveiling the new spaceship and then we go into flight tests. That’s one thing I’m never going to be in a hurry on. We just have to see how it goes.

28 Nov, 2014

Land Rover switches contest prizes

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Land Rover offers alternative prizes for its Galactic Discovery competition following the loss of SpaceShipTwo. The global winner would have earned a flight into space on SpaceShipTwo for him or herself and three friends. Land Rover:

In these exceptional circumstances, and in line with the competition terms and conditions, we will be offering an alternative prize to the global winner and, in some cases, to the national winners. You have our commitment that all prize winners will receive an amazing and memorable Land Rover experience, the details of which will be confirmed before December 2nd.

7 Nov, 2014

Co-pilot acted alone

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People familiar with the NTSB investigation say Alsbury unlocked the tail mechanism of SpaceShipTwo without authorization from Siebold, and two seconds later the spaceship disintegrated. This is said to have caused the tail-feathering mechanism to become loose and create turbulence that buffeted the spaceship apart, as airspeed was 250 miles an hour slower than the rate needed for airflow to hold the tail mechanism in place while unlocked. Will Whitehorn, who served as president of Virgin Galactic until 2011 says it remains a mystery why Alsbury unlocked the tail without conferring with Siebold:

Nobody knows at this stage.

5 Nov, 2014

Over 30 ticketholders may cancel

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A source tells The Independent that a group of more than 30 investors are talking about canceling their Galactic tickets. A Switzerland-based asset manager:

I want out. I subscribed seven years ago at 63, am still an active private pilot and in good health but who knows how long it will now take. I have already informed VG of my wish – no reply yet

Another person who is considering canceling:

[Some investors are] die-hard Richard Branson supporters and they will go on it whatever

4 Nov, 2014

Will build another SpaceShipTwo

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Galactic says that SpaceShipTwo Mark II is about 65% complete and it will continue building the craft:

we will continue to advance our mission over the coming weeks and months…We owe it to all of those who have risked and given so much to stay the course and deliver on the promise of creating the first commercial spaceline.

Survival investigated

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The NTSB is focusing part of its investigation on how Siebold escaped the spaceship and managed to survive at 50,000 feet, where there is virtually no oxygen. An NTSB official says that he didn’t go through the cockpit’s escape hatch:

We know it wasn’t through there, so how did this pilot get out?

3 Nov, 2014

Cancels ticket

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Beatrice is reported to cancel her ticket on Virgin Galactic. Source:

Beatrice was excited by the idea of space tourism, but there is no way she will be going on one of the flights, if they are ever allowed to take place

Braking system deployed early

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virgin-galactic-brakes-deployThe NTSB says an examination of telemetry and video recorded onboard SpaceShipTwo show its braking system, in which the tail of the spaceship feathers to slow its descent and keep it belly-down for landing, deployed early. The tail booms shifted upwards seconds after it fired its rocket motor, and before the explosion. The development could shift the investigation away from the motor. Hart, the NTSB’s acting chairman:

What I’m about to say is a statement of fact and not a statement of cause. We are a long way from finding cause. We still have months and months of investigation to do, and there’s a lot that we don’t know. We have extensive data sources to go through.

Improper co-pilot command

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The NTSB says SpaceShipTwo’s co-pilot gave an improper command that led to the braking system deploying early. SpaceShipTwo’s fuel tanks and engine have been recovered largely intact and the hybrid motor fueled by nitrous oxide and a plastic-based compound was found five miles from where large tail sections first hit the ground. The condition and location of the wreckage suggest that an engine explosion didn’t cause the crash.

2 Nov, 2014

NTSB: Inflight breakup likely

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Acting NTSB chairman Christopher A. Hart gives the organization’s second media briefing since the investigation started:

The wreckage is located in a large area, about five miles northeast to southwest, five miles end to end…indicating inflight breakup

Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart's Second Media Briefing on Crash of SpaceShipTwo, Mojave, Calif.

1 Nov, 2014

NTSB starts investigation

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The NTSB begins the on-site part of its investigation into the crash.

It says the entire investigation could take up to 12 months while the on-site phase is expected to be between four and seven days. The agency’s acting chairman says he plans to offer regular press briefings throughout the investigation:

Injured pilot identified

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Peter SielboldKern County Sheriff identifies the pilot who survived the crash as 43-year-old Peter Siebold. Both Sielbold and Michael Alsbury, who was killed, work for Scaled Composites. According to the company, Siebold is:

alert and talking with his family and doctors.

Pilot identified

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Michael AlsburyA spokeswoman at the Kern’s County coroner’s office tells the Los Angeles Times that the killed pilot is 39-year-old father-of-two, Michael Alsbury. Alsbury had piloted SpaceShipTwo as recently as August 28, with Peter Siebold, completing a successful run. Michelle Saling, Alsbury’s widow:

I have lost the love of my life. I am living in hell right now.

Statement

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Branson says he is “determined to find out what went wrong” and learn from the tragedy.

This is obviously a very tough time for everybody who works at Virgin Galactic, who works at The Spaceship Company, and who works for Scaled Composites. And most importantly our thoughts remain with the families of the brave Scaled pilots and all those who have been affected by this tragedy. We are determined to find out what went wrong and are working with the authorities to get that information. It is too early for me to add any details of the investigation at this stage. We’ve always known that commercial space travel in an incredibly hard project. We’ve be undertaking a comprehensive testing program for many years and safety has always been our number one priority. This is the biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history, precisely to ensure that this never happens to the public.

Branson: Determined to find out what went wrong

NASA scientist will still fly Galactic

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Alan Stern, a former associate administrator of NASA’s Space Mission Directorate, says he still plans to fly with Virgin Galactic.

Let’s not be Chicken Littles here. I want to be part of the opening of this future frontier.

Ticketholder reacts to crash

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Jim Clash, a journalist who has bought a $200,000 ticket to fly with Galactic, tells Mashable he’s not going to abandon the plan to travel to space after the crash of SpaceShipTwo. Clash:

If you’re gonna go for something worthwhile there’s risk and some people are gonna die. We all hope it is not us. Rocket science is hard, it’s not easy.

He doesn’t know whether the other approximately 700 ticketholders will feel the same:

It’s too early to tell, we have to see where the investigation goes. There’s about 700 of us out there. My guess is there are probably some who feel they will stick with the program, maybe others won’t.

NASA sends condolences

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NASA sends its condolences to Virgin Galactic:

While not a NASA mission, the pain of this tragedy will be felt by all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploration. Space flight is incredibly difficult, and we commend the passion of all in the space community who take on risk to push the boundaries of human achievement.