{"id":16878,"date":"2014-10-31T21:56:14","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T13:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/pilot-dies-in-crash-of-virgin-galactic-rocket-plane\/"},"modified":"2014-10-31T21:56:14","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T13:56:14","slug":"pilot-dies-in-crash-of-virgin-galactic-rocket-plane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/pilot-dies-in-crash-of-virgin-galactic-rocket-plane\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilot dies in crash of Virgin Galactic rocket plane"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Updated with more details at 7:30 p.m. PDT (10:30 p.m. EDT; 0230 GMT)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_643\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-643\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-643\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/B1Se-anCcAAKT6S.jpg-large.jpeg\" alt=\"Spaceship Two and its mothership WhiteKnightTwo earlier today. Photo: Scaled Composites \/ Jason DiVenere.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/B1Se-anCcAAKT6S.jpg-large.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/B1Se-anCcAAKT6S.jpg-large-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/B1Se-anCcAAKT6S.jpg-large-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-643\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spaceship Two and its mothership WhiteKnightTwo earlier today. Photo: Scaled Composites \/ Jason DiVenere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane crashed during a powered test flight over California\u2019s Mojave Desert on Friday, leaving one pilot dead and another seriously injured.<\/p>\n<p>One of the spacecraft\u2019s two pilots died in the crash, and the other crewman was injured and transported to a local hospital, according&nbsp;to Stuart Witt, CEO of the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the flight originated.<\/p>\n<p>Officials did not identify the people aboard SpaceShipTwo, but the pilots were employees of Scaled Composites, the company that built the rocket plane, according to Kevin Mickey, Scaled\u2019s president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are human, and it hurts,\u201d Witt said. \u201cOur hearts, thoughts, prayers are absolutely with the families and the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The anomaly apparently occurred after the space plane fired its rocket motor following a high-altitude drop from Virgin Galactic\u2019s WhiteKnightTwo mothership at 10:10 a.m. PDT (1:10 p.m. EDT; 1710 GMT).<\/p>\n<p>Moments later, something went wrong and officials declared an emergency, Witt said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur primary thoughts at this moment are with the crew and family, and we\u2019re doing everything we can for them now,\u201d said George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=528313319195938816&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2014%2F10%2F31%2Fvirgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-suffers-anomaly-during-test-flight%2F&amp;sessionId=b1543d87052c8d719ad563a2980f1522c4a13a92&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"528313319195938816\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782704262502553817=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1 dead, 1 seriously injured when Virgin Galactic\u2019s #SpaceShipTwo crashes in California. @TomCostelloNBC starts us off pic.twitter.com\/Rmvx2Y1siL<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 31, 2014<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Footage from television news helicopters in the area showed the desert floor littered with fragments of SpaceShipTwo.<\/p>\n<p>Observers also reported spotting a parachute in the air.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpace is hard, and today was a tough day,\u201d Whitesides said. \u201cWe are going to support the investigation as we figure out what happened today, and we\u2019re going to get through it. The future rests, in many ways, on hard days like this, but we believe we owe it to the folks who were flying these vehicles, as well as the folks who have been working so hard on them, to understand this and to move forward, which is what we\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the mishap. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive in Mojave early Saturday to begin surveying the crash site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn behalf of the entire NASA family, I offer our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the pilot lost in today\u2019s accident involving Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo, and we are praying for a speedy recovery of the other pilot,\u201d NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said in a statement. \u201cWhile 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The suborbital spacecraft was making its first powered flight since January and was testing a redesigned rocket motor.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1 dead &amp; 1 injured in <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/SpaceShipTwo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#SpaceShipTwo<\/a> crash, California authorities say <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/7IMtRkR8ho\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/t.co\/7IMtRkR8ho<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/HNoxAL2CZr\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/HNoxAL2CZr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BBCBreaking\/status\/528263108469747712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 31, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Virgin Galactic, part of Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Group, was aiming to complete qualification of the rocket-powered plane in time to begin space tourist flights to the edge of space next year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve always known that the road to space is extremely difficult \u2014 and that every new transportation system has to deal with bad days early in their history,\u201d Branson said in a statement. \u201cSpace is hard \u2014 but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SpaceShipTwo is designed to reach the internationally-recognized boundary of space at an altitude of 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles. More than 700 individuals have signed up to pay approximately $250,000 to ride the rocket plane when it is operational.<\/p>\n<p>Slung beneath the WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane, the spacecraft took off at 9:19 a.m. PDT (12:19 p.m. EDT; 1619 GMT) from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The takeoff was delayed more than three hours to wait for bad weather to clear the area.<\/p>\n<p>The test flight was the 55th flight of the SpaceShipTwo vehicle, and the craft\u2019s 35th free flight. It was the fourth time SpaceShipTwo had fired up its hybrid rocket motor in flight, and the first powered mission since Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, the spacecraft\u2019s builder, switched from a rubber-based propellant to a plastic-based fuel mix.<\/p>\n<p>After its release from the mammoth WhiteKnightTwo mothership, the rocket plane was supposed to fire its rocket motor then configure its wings to glide back to Earth for a landing on a runway at Mojave, Calif., where it took off under the WhiteKnightTwo carrier craft.<\/p>\n<p>The 60-foot-long rocket plane \u2014 about the size of a Falcon 900 business jet \u2014 is based on the SpaceShipOne craft that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 after completing two flights of a private reusable manned spacecraft within two weeks.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=528276299371249664&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2014%2F10%2F31%2Fvirgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-suffers-anomaly-during-test-flight%2F&amp;sessionId=b1543d87052c8d719ad563a2980f1522c4a13a92&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"528276299371249664\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782704262502553817=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thoughts with all @virgingalactic &amp; Scaled, thanks for all your messages of support. I&#8217;m flying to Mojave immediately to be with the team.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Richard Branson (@richardbranson) October 31, 2014<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Virgin Galactic is one of several companies going after the space tourism market. SpaceShipTwo was designed to fly up to six passengers on suborbital jaunts, giving tourists a chance to see the curvature of the Earth and float in weightlessness for a few minutes each trip.<\/p>\n<p>Officials decided this spring to modify the space plane\u2019s rocket motor to use a different type of fuel. Instead of burning a rubber-based fuel mix known as HTPB used on SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo\u2019s initial test flights, Virgin Galactic selected a new propellant grain known as&nbsp;polyamide which officials said offered improved performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was a new fuel formulation that had been proven and tested on the ground many times,\u201d Mickey said in a press conference.<\/p>\n<p>Mickey described the change as a \u201csmall nuance to the rocket motor design.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were flying a rocket motor today that had been thoroughly tested on the ground and had been through a qualification series, and we expected no problems with the motor,\u201d Mickey said.<\/p>\n<p>The hybrid rocket motor burns the solid fuel with nitrous oxide \u2014 laughing gas \u2014 as an oxidizer.<\/p>\n<p>John \u201cDanny\u201d Olivas, a former space shuttle astronaut and an independent flight safety consultant, said it is too early to know what caused the crash, but SpaceShipTwo flew three successful rocket-powered test flights before engineers modified the rocket motor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the most notable thing that is significant was that the prior test flights had been with a different motor configuration and a different propellant system that what was presently being tested,\u201d Olivas said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s still very early to tell exactly what happened \u2014 it\u2019s very speculative,\u201d Olivas said. But whenever you have a significant change such as with the motor, that\u2019s going to be one of the first things you need to look at in the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=528271437812203520&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2014%2F10%2F31%2Fvirgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-suffers-anomaly-during-test-flight%2F&amp;sessionId=b1543d87052c8d719ad563a2980f1522c4a13a92&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"528271437812203520\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782704262502553817=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Space Ship Two was tracked on Flightradar24. Signal was lost at 17.12 UTC 10 km north of Mojave pic.twitter.com\/0aga5Ka0SQ<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 31, 2014<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated with more details at 7:30 p.m. PDT (10:30 p.m. EDT; 0230 GMT) Spaceship Two and its mothership WhiteKnightTwo earlier today. Photo: Scaled Composites \/ Jason DiVenere. Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane crashed during a powered test flight over California\u2019s Mojave Desert on Friday, leaving one pilot dead and another seriously injured. One of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1973,492],"class_list":["post-16878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-spaceshiptwo","tag-virgin-galactic"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}