Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo launched Friday for a test flight but was lost as the aircraft suffered a serious anomaly, breaking in mid-air and crashing in the desert some 20 miles northeast of Mojave. The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the crash and has named pilot error as one of the possible causes of the launch's failure.
According to NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher Hart, the co-pilot changed controls prematurely, prompting the SpaceShipTwo's tail to lift sooner than it should have and engage "feathering." However, feathering requires another lever to be unlocked. The second lever was never used but the aircraft underwent feathering just the same. Feathering is an action in which the tail is lifted to slow down descent, creating drag in the process.
This means while pilot error may have factored in the crash, it may not be the only reason for the loss of SpaceShipTwo. The investigation has only started, after all, and the agency is still a long way from finding the exact cause. In fact, it could take up to a year to complete a final report on the investigation of the crash.
The engine, oxidizer tanks, and fuel tanks from the aircraft were found among the wreckage but all are intact, showing no signs of physical damage or being burned through. However, there is speculation that the engine may have factored in as well in the crash because it is using a different kind of fuel. Until May, the SpaceShipTwo had been running on rubber-based fuel. For the test flight, it was fitted with a new motor which ran on plastic-based fuel.
Virgin Galactic was initially scheduled to begin commercial space flights in 2008 but repeatedly pushed back launch date due to testing and development challenges. Before this setback, SpaceShipTwo was supposed to be inaugurated early 2015. Now that the investigation will likely stretch for months, Virgin Galactic's official venture into space, of which Richard Branson and his family will be the first patrons, will also likely be postponed. Again.
Because of the possibility that Virgin Galactic officials may have been under pressure to accelerate the test flights for the SpaceShipTwo cannot be ignored, this angle will also be part of the NTSB's investigation. However, the company is quick to defend itself.
"At Virgin Galactic, we are dedicated to opening the space frontier, while keeping safety as our 'North Star.' This has guided every decision we have made over the past decade, and any suggestion to the contrary is categorically untrue," countered the company in a statement.
