SpaceShipTwo crashes in test flight, one pilot killed
Posted: Sat, Nov 1, 2014, 9:21 AM ET (1321 GMT)
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane crashed during a test flight Friday near Mojave, California, killing one pilot and injuring the other. The vehicle, making its first powered flight since January, suffered an "inflight anomaly" shortly after being released from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and igniting its hybrid rocket motor. The vehicle broke apart and crashed about 40 kilometers north of the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the vehicles took off about an hour earlier. The identities of the pilots on board SpaceShipTwo have not been disclosed, although both are employees of Scaled Composites, the company developing SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic. The flight was the first for SpaceShipTwo using a different hybrid rocket motor, replacing the rubber fuel previously used with plastic. That motor had undergone a series of tests on the ground prior to Friday's flight. Engine problems have delayed the development of SpaceShipTwo by several years. In 2007, a test stand accident on Mojave during testing of an earlier hybrid rocket motor design killed three Scaled Composites employees. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to have investigators on the scene of the crash Saturday morning.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane crashed during a test flight Friday near Mojave, California, killing one pilot and injuring the other. The vehicle, making its first powered flight since January, suffered an "inflight anomaly" shortly after being released from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and igniting its hybrid rocket motor. The vehicle broke apart and crashed about 40 kilometers north of the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the vehicles took off about an hour earlier. The identities of the pilots on board SpaceShipTwo have not been disclosed, although both are employees of Scaled Composites, the company developing SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic. The flight was the first for SpaceShipTwo using a different hybrid rocket motor, replacing the rubber fuel previously used with plastic. That motor had undergone a series of tests on the ground prior to Friday's flight. Engine problems have delayed the development of SpaceShipTwo by several years. In 2007, a test stand accident on Mojave during testing of an earlier hybrid rocket motor design killed three Scaled Composites employees. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to have investigators on the scene of the crash Saturday morning.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, October 4
Starship’s successful launch to low Earth orbit is a big deal
The Hill — 12:29 am ET (0429 GMT) Cowen Defends SpaceX De-Annexation Deal as a ‘Historic Opportunity’ for Brownsville’s Water Future
Rio Grande Guardian — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) Oman space conference 2026 opens in Muscat
Muscat (Oman) Daily — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) France eyes commercial rocket launch from Al Duqm
Oman Observer — 12:24 am ET (0424 GMT) India tests 5.56-km quantum link, ISRO eyes secure communication from space
India Today — 12:23 am ET (0423 GMT) |
