![]() In a statement, Virgin Galactic said the flight was “ a safe and successful test flight that complied with our flight procedures and training protocols. According to the company, both pilots responded adequately. Virgin Galactic said the sudden change of course was caused by high-altitude winds. As the spaceship was returning, it veered out of its Air Traffic Control airspace, prompting an FAA investigation. During that flight on 11 July, SpaceShipTwo reached a maximum altitude of 86 kilometres. Virgin Galactic “ may not return the SpaceShipTwo vehicle to flight until the FAA approves the final mishap investigation report or determines the issues related to the mishap do not affect public safety,” an FAA spokesperson said on Thursday.Ī New Yorker story published on Wednesday first revealed the FAA investigation and found that the two pilots for Unity 22 had been alerted to yellow and red warning lights during the ship’s rocket-powered ascent to space indicating that the spaceship wasn’t ascending vertically enough to be able to free-glide back with enough momentum to land after reaching space. During that 11 July flight, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo veered out of its approved airspace on its descent toward land, the FAA said. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is grounded until the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completes an investigation into the company’s test flight carrying Richard Branson. "I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but going to space was more magical than I ever imagined," Branson wrote of the experience.Įditor's note: This story was updated was 4:45 pm ET with details from Virgin Galactic's post-launch press conference.Įmail Chelsea Gohd at or follow her on Twitter Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 © Virgin Galactic With today's flight, Virgin Galactic appears to be poised to meet its 2022 target for passenger flight. Virgin Galactic, part of British billionaire Richard Bransons Virgin Group conglomerate, launched a ship bound for. That tragic accident, attributed to pilot error, killed one pilot and seriously injured another, leading Virgin Galactic to develop new safety systems to prevent it from happening again. The future of commercial space travel is took off in New Mexico on Thursday. Though it did not go into orbit, it was the first launch of a spacecraft with humans from U.S. Branson founded the company in 2004 after SpaceShipOne, a vehicle built by the company Scaled Composites and financed by the late billionaire Paul Allen, won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for reusable commercial spaceflight.īranson tapped Scaled Composites to design SpaceShipTwo and its carrier plane, but the road to astronaut launches has been slow and painful.Ī fatal ground accident in 2007 killed three Scaled Composites employees and in 2014, Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo, the VSS Enterprise, broke apart during a powered test flight. Late last year, two pilots flew Branson’s SpaceShipTwo to the edge of space. "The ship looks pristine - no issues whatsoever."įor Virgin Galactic, today's launch was a major milestone. "Everything looked perfect in real time," Moses said, adding that a quick walkaround the vehicle revealed few flaws. About the only glitch was some garbled video and audio from inside the passenger cabin, which may be an antenna blockage issue, he said. "So thrilling when a lifetime's dream comes true."Īn early look at VSS Unity suggests a very smooth flight, said Mike Moses, Virgin Galactic's president of space missions and safety. ![]() "We've been to space, everybody! " Branson cheered during a post-flight press conference. Finally, the first time flyers - Bandla, Branson and Bennett - each got special Virgin Galactic astronaut wings with a tiny SpaceShipTwo on them. Singer Khalid debuted his new single "New Normal" after landing (Branson and his crew got to listen to it during their glide back to Earth), and comedian Stephen Colbert of The Late Show hosted the company's live webcast.īranson even announced a new partnership between Virgin Galactic and Omaze to raffle off two free tickets to space. One friend of Branson's, SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk, was in the audience and wished his fellow billionaire well. ![]() Virgin Galactic invited a crowd of guests to the launch, including customers with reservations for future flights (they're paying $250,000 a seat for the trip). Britishentrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, has teamed up with aerospace designer, BurtRutan of Scaled Composites to form a new aerospace production company.
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