SpaceShipTwo pilot reveals details of crash to NTSB
The pilot of SpaceShipTwo, which broke up above California's Mojave Desert last month, says he was unaware that his co-pilot had prematurely unlocked a crucial braking system moments before the fatal crash, federal investigators said Wednesday.
Pilot Peter Siebold told the National Transportation Safety Board he was thrown free of the vehicle when it broke up and that his parachute automatically deployed.
The NTSB, which said it spoke to Siebold on Friday, is continuing its investigation into the cause of the crash. Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo tore apart above the Mojave Desert on Oct. 31, killing co-pilot Mike Alsbury. Siebold parachuted to safety.
Acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart previously has said a lever used to move the aircraft into its unique "feathered" position was unlocked too early. Siebold's description of the vehicle's motion was consistent with other data in the investigation, the NTSB said in a statement Wednesday.
Feathering refers to a transformation of the spacecraft after it is released from the mother ship, a jet that carries it toward sub-orbital space. The spacecraft falls to earth much like a shuttlecock. The change into a shape slows its re-entry and lowers its surface temperature.
The system isn't supposed to be unlocked until the craft reaches speeds in excess of 1,000 mph. On-board video previously showed Alsbury unlocking the system too early. The system apparently was not actually deployed, and the NTSB is studying the system to determine why it engaged anyway.
An investigative group will convene next week at the NTSB Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C., to evaluate the vehicle and ground-based videos, the NTSB said. Final reports on crashes can take a year to complete.
Company officials say they hope to resume test flights next year with a replacement craft already under construction at a manufacturing plant in Mohave, Calif. George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic chief executive, has said the company will continue flying its mother ship -- the much larger, jet-powered plane that launches the rocket ship at high altitudes -- while federal investigators look into the cause of the deadly crash.
Virgin is selling $250,000 tickets to space aboard its craft, and a vast majority of customers have reiterated their commitment to fly, space pioneer Sir Richard Branson said in a statement last week. "Very few" of the company's 700 customers have asked for their money back following the crash, he said.
Among celebrities who have signed up to fly with Virgin Galactic are Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, who is planning a performance from space during the 4 minutes of weightlessness each traveler will experience.
"With the guidance of the NTSB and the assurance of a safe path forward, we intend to move ahead with our testing program and have not lost sight of our mission to make space accessible for all," the company said in a statement last week. "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."
Contributing: Trevor Hughes
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