Washington: A yellow warning light, followed by a red one: Richard BransonAccording to a new report from The, on July 11, Voyage to Space experienced cockpit warnings about rocket-propelled ascent, which could jeopardize the mission. New Yorker.
on Thursday, US Federal Aviation Administration It confirmed in a statement to AFP that it was investigating the flight as it deviated from its planned trajectory.
“During its flight of July 11, 2021, Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicles deviate from themselves air traffic control Clearance upon return to Spaceport America,” leased by the Space Base Company in New Mexico. “The FAA’s investigation continues.”
The confirmation came a day after The New Yorker published an explosive report by investigative journalist Nicholas Schmidley, which said the red light indicated the spacecraft’s ascent was too shallow and the nose was insufficiently steep.
Without corrective action, the vessel would not have had enough energy to return to its runway. “According to multiple sources in the company, the safest way to respond to the warning would have been to abort,” Schmidt wrote – although Virgin disputes this.
Aborting would have dashed flamboyant billionaire Branson’s hopes of defeating rival Jeff Bezos, whose own flight was scheduled days later.
The pilots did not abort and instead attempted to correct the trajectory problem, now flying with a red light at Mach 3.
The ship reached an altitude of 85 kilometers (52 mi) – well above the US definition of spaceflight – and landed safely, but data obtained from Flightradar 24 showed that it had flown out of its designated path.
“Whether or not the (pilots’) decision was driven by programmatic pressures and the expectations of their billionaire bankroller sitting behind is unclear,” Schmidt wrote.
Virgin Galactic told AFP it disputed the “misleading characterization and conclusion in the New Yorker article”.
“When the vehicle encountered high altitude winds that altered the trajectory, pilots and systems monitored the trajectory to ensure it remained within mission standards,” the statement said.
“Our pilots respond to these changing flight conditions exactly as they have been trained and in strict accordance with our established procedures.”
The company acknowledged that the flight had diverged from the initial plan, but showed the deviation to be a short duration of one minute and 43 seconds when it flew below its assigned altitude, not a change in those areas. Instead of.
“The ship never traveled above a population center or posed a danger to the public.”
Virgin Galactic has had close calls and accidents in the past – most notably in 2014 when a crash killed one pilot and injured another.
Schmidley also wrote that key personnel who criticized the company’s safety culture had resigned or been fired, including its former chief test pilot and flight-test director.
The company said on Thursday that it is moving forward with its next test flight in late September or early October, involving members of the Italian Air Force.
on Thursday, US Federal Aviation Administration It confirmed in a statement to AFP that it was investigating the flight as it deviated from its planned trajectory.
“During its flight of July 11, 2021, Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicles deviate from themselves air traffic control Clearance upon return to Spaceport America,” leased by the Space Base Company in New Mexico. “The FAA’s investigation continues.”
The confirmation came a day after The New Yorker published an explosive report by investigative journalist Nicholas Schmidley, which said the red light indicated the spacecraft’s ascent was too shallow and the nose was insufficiently steep.
Without corrective action, the vessel would not have had enough energy to return to its runway. “According to multiple sources in the company, the safest way to respond to the warning would have been to abort,” Schmidt wrote – although Virgin disputes this.
Aborting would have dashed flamboyant billionaire Branson’s hopes of defeating rival Jeff Bezos, whose own flight was scheduled days later.
The pilots did not abort and instead attempted to correct the trajectory problem, now flying with a red light at Mach 3.
The ship reached an altitude of 85 kilometers (52 mi) – well above the US definition of spaceflight – and landed safely, but data obtained from Flightradar 24 showed that it had flown out of its designated path.
“Whether or not the (pilots’) decision was driven by programmatic pressures and the expectations of their billionaire bankroller sitting behind is unclear,” Schmidt wrote.
Virgin Galactic told AFP it disputed the “misleading characterization and conclusion in the New Yorker article”.
“When the vehicle encountered high altitude winds that altered the trajectory, pilots and systems monitored the trajectory to ensure it remained within mission standards,” the statement said.
“Our pilots respond to these changing flight conditions exactly as they have been trained and in strict accordance with our established procedures.”
The company acknowledged that the flight had diverged from the initial plan, but showed the deviation to be a short duration of one minute and 43 seconds when it flew below its assigned altitude, not a change in those areas. Instead of.
“The ship never traveled above a population center or posed a danger to the public.”
Virgin Galactic has had close calls and accidents in the past – most notably in 2014 when a crash killed one pilot and injured another.
Schmidley also wrote that key personnel who criticized the company’s safety culture had resigned or been fired, including its former chief test pilot and flight-test director.
The company said on Thursday that it is moving forward with its next test flight in late September or early October, involving members of the Italian Air Force.
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