RICHARD BRANSON SPACESHIP FULL

our pilots responded appropriately to these changing flight conditions exactly as they were trained,' the statement reads.īut Virgin Galactic's former flight test director Mark 'Forger' Stucky, who was watching the entire flight from Spaceport America on July 11, disputes the company's account. 'When the vehicle encountered high-altitude winds which changed the trajectory. In other words, the company says it was out of bounds vertically for a moment, but never laterally. the flight did drop below the altitude of the airspace that is protected for Virgin Galactic missions for a short distance and time (1 minute and 41 seconds) before reentering restricted airspace that is protected all the way to the ground for Virgin Galactic missions.' The issue with Unity's descent was originally reported in the New Yorker by Nicholas Schmidle, author of the book Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut.Ī statement from Virgin Galactic acknowledges that the 'flight's ultimate trajectory deviated from our initial plan. The FAA typically will conduct a routine mishap investigation any time anything out of the ordinary happens during such a flight. '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 agency spokesperson said via email. The FAA confirmed in a statement to CNET on Thursday that during the flight, 'the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle deviated from its air traffic control clearance as it returned to Spaceport America.'Ī few hours later, the FAA announced it was grounding all the company's SpaceShipTwo vehicles, including Unity, while the mishap investigation continues.

RICHARD BRANSON SPACESHIP FULL

The much-hyped flight to the edge of space was the company's first with a full crew, including billionaire founder Richard Branson, aboard. The agency says the company's VSS Unity rocket plane veered out of its designated airspace as it glided back down to Earth for a landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico on July 11. The Federal Aviation Administration says Virgin Galactic won't be making another trip to the edge of space, for now.

Richard branson spaceship