Posted on 10/31/2014 12:10:31 PM PDT by BenLurkin
CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL SAYS ONE PERSON KILLED, ONE INJURED IN CRASH OF VIRGIN GALACTIC SPACECRAFT IN MOJAVE DESERT -CNN, CNBC
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for further updates. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct 31 (Reuters) - A suborbital passenger spaceship being developed by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic crashed during a test flight on Friday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, officials said. Two pilots were aboard the spaceship, which was undergoing its first powered test flight since January. It was not immediately known if they were able to parachute to safety.
More than 800 people have paid or put down deposits to fly aboard the spaceship, which is carried to an altitude of about 45,000 feet and released. The spaceship then fires its rocket motor to catapult it to about 62 miles (100 km) high, giving passengers a view of the planet set against the blackness of space and a few minutes of weightlessness.
The spaceship is based on a prototype, called SpaceShipOne, which 10 years ago won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for the first privately developed manned spacecraft to fly in space.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
1 dead,
1 "Serious" injury.
Cause:
"Serious anomaly." IOW, "don't know yet."
(Wild Ass Guess) Not that great a body of fatigue data on this composite stuff quite yet, and the thing has been flying with rocket power for well over a year..
“Never ride in a virgin galactic spaceship. Better to go with an experienced one.”
Thanks, pal, I needed a laugh.
MSN?
Thailand?
I think this was a test of a new engine design. They had been down for over 9 months - this was to their return.
Suborbital Passenger Excursion Craft.
Or
SPEC
I think they were trying a new propellant for the engine. Horrible but the cost of spaceflight. I hope we never abandon our dreams..... and God bless and keep the pioneers.
I think Branson will pull out after this, and the whole concept ends.
Musk is working on simpler, better, cheaper and safer technology.
They had one pop on the test site.
It seems there are a few here highly disappointment about that.
It seems there are a few here highly disappointment about that.
He can say it again, but that does not make it true.
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2014/08/22/spacex-test-rocket-explodes-in-texas/14472939/
Just exploded... Rockets are tough.
And it died without ever experiencing the thrill and passion of spaceship sex.
That has happened to me a few times after eating Thai food...
If it is suborbital it is not really a “spaceship”, is it?
The Texas venue where the test was aborted in with a self destruct command?
Just a wild guess but this is probably why these destruct systems are built into these tests...
I was referring to Space X’s actual successful missions/launches, not tests.
Nice try though.
It goes straight up into “space” then comes straight back down.
It’s sole purpose was for someone to say “I went to space”, like someone flying to europe can say “I flew to the North Pole”
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