How Virgin Galactic's spaceship pilot survived a 10-mile fall back to Earth

LA Times ^ | Melody Petersen

[Responsibility2nd]

Free falling at 50,000 feet through space! What a ride!

Dude is lucky to be alive.

[C210N]

His next memory is of being outside the plane, hearing the high-pitched whistle of the wind...

I think there was a movie about this situation...

[FreeAtlanta]

Amazing story.

I hate that the copilot is being thrown under the bus.

[loungitude]

SpaceShipTwo was more than 10 miles above the Mojave Desert and had passed through the sound barrier

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How high is the sound barrier?

[FreeAtlanta]

If that was the Bullock - Clooney movie, the best part was Clooney not surviving.

[sasquatch]

It really isn’t a barrier...

[Cowgirl of Justice]

I remember a story about a stewardess who fell from the sky and lived. I don’t remember the circumstances but she didn’t have a chute.

Here it is:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/czechrepublic/9040863/40-years-on-woman-who-survived-33000-foot-fall-still-faces-questions.html

[rktman]

If only-———————

[rktman]

LOL! Kinda like the one on our southern border? In name only. Easily penetrated.

[Moonman62]

Did the copilot not screw up?

[Moonman62]

Virgin Galactic is a Fustercluck, way behind schedule and killed too many people.

[rjsimmon]

Did he beat the world record for freefalling?

[minnesota_bound]

Last question was “What does this lever do?”

[jpsb]

check this story out, truly amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEpKNla63Kw

[DiogenesLamp]

If that was the Bullock - Clooney movie, the best part was Clooney not surviving.

That was a horrible movie. Other than the CGI, it sucked.

[FreeAtlanta]

I don’t know. Sometimes it is cheaper to blame pilot error than equipment.

It seems like something that should not have been able to be engaged until re-entry.

[Moonman62]

I’ve found other articles blaming Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, and the FAA, and I’ve found them to be reasonable. So in a sense the co-pilot is getting more blame than he should. However, If I’m a test pilot for that craft, I’m sure as heck going to know why that lever’s there and when it can and can’t be operated, regardless of whether anybody else is on the ball.

[TalonDJ]

Your totally right. But as an avionics designer I can say that level damn well should not have been allowed to be used at a time when it was guaranteed to destroy the craft. There should have been some type of interlock.

[sasquatch]

I think so.