http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/31/space-crash-virgin-idUSL1N0SQ26820141031

Oct 31 (Reuters) – A suborbital passenger spaceship being developed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company crashed during a test flight on Friday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, killing one crew member and seriously injuring the other, officials said.

The crash of the vehicle, undergoing its first powered test flight since January over the Mojave Desert, 95 miles (150 km) north of Los Angeles, came days after another commercial space company, Orbital Sciences Inc, lost a rocket in an explosion in Virginia moments after liftoff.

Television footage of the Virgin Galactic crash site showed wreckage of the spacecraft lying in two large pieces on the ground, and the company said the spacecraft was destroyed.

The co-pilot of the spaceship was killed in the crash, while the pilot, who ejected, was injured, Kern County Sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt said. The pilot was found at the scene and taken to a local hospital, he said.

More than 800 people have paid or put down deposits to eventually 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) above Earth, giving passengers a view of the planet set against the blackness of space and a few minutes of weightlessness.

The vehicle is based on a prototype, SpaceShipOne, which 10 years ago won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for becoming the first privately developed manned spacecraft to fly in space.

“During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo,” Virgin said in a tweet, adding: “We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident and provide updates ASAP.”

The crash was the second accident this week involving a commercial U.S. space company. On Tuesday, an Antares rocket built and launched by Orbital Sciences exploded 15 seconds after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia, destroying a cargo ship bound for the International Space Station.

In May, Virgin Galactic and spaceship developer Scaled Composites, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp, switched to an alternative plastic-type of fuel grain for the hybrid rocket motor.

The crash was a major setback for Virgin Galactic, a U.S. offshoot of billionaire Branson’s London-based Virgin Group. SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot spacecraft is aiming to make the world’s first commercial suborbital space flights.

Other companies developing passenger suborbital spacecraft include privately owned XCOR Aerospace, which is building a two-person spaceplane called Lynx, and Blue Origin, a startup space company owned by Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos.

Virgin Galactic also plans to use its White Knight Two carrier jets to launch small satellites and payloads into orbit. (Reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Irene Klotz from Cape Canaveral, Florida; Editing by David Adams and James Dalgleish)

:(

The first thing I though when one of the pilots has survived is that they must have had ejector seats or an escape pod but there was no mention of it in the news report.
We need less journalists more reporters.

Peak Warming Man said:

The first thing I though when one of the pilots has survived is that they must have had ejector seats or an escape pod but there was no mention of it in the news report.
We need less journalists more reporters.

Sunrise reports

“one killed, one was able to eject”

I’m wondering if the motor blew up? Solid motors can be tricky things.

Obviousman said:

I’m wondering if the motor blew up? Solid motors can be tricky things.

It exploded when they started the rocket engines, yes.

that is disappointing

they will hopefully find the cause

Obviousman said:

I’m wondering if the motor blew up? Solid motors can be tricky things.

I suppose we will learn these things from the investigation.

roughbarked said:

Obviousman said:

I’m wondering if the motor blew up? Solid motors can be tricky things.

I suppose we will learn these things from the investigation.

News reports say they were testing a new fuel, so I suspect that would be where investigations would start.

Carmen_Sandiego said:

roughbarked said:

Obviousman said:

I’m wondering if the motor blew up? Solid motors can be tricky things.

I suppose we will learn these things from the investigation.

News reports say they were testing a new fuel, so I suspect that would be where investigations would start.

they really need better diagnostics built into every part of the engine

but this needs to be next level diagnostics built right into the surfaces of the engine to avoid extra weight

CrazyNeutrino said:

they really need better diagnostics built into every part of the engine

Who says there aren’t already more diagnostics?

Carmen_Sandiego said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

they really need better diagnostics built into every part of the engine

Who says there aren’t already more diagnostics?

It isn’t as if there hasn’t been a lot put in.

Obviousman said:

I’m wondering if the motor blew up? Solid motors can be tricky things.

It’s not a solid-fuel motor, it’s a hybrid. So a special type of rubber for the fuel and it has nitrous oxide blown over it to create the reaction that generates the gas to make thrust. Very controllable, much safer than a solid-fuel rocket.

roughbarked said:

Carmen_Sandiego said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

they really need better diagnostics built into every part of the engine

Who says there aren’t already more diagnostics?

It isn’t as if there hasn’t been a lot put in.

I’m saying even more diagnostics built into the surfaces of every part of the engine and every other surface of the spaceship

they have to improve their on ground testing of the engine as well

The nitrous might have escaped and couldn’t be shut down

Hybrid rockets are unlikely to explode

Maybe a chamber breech and hot gases escape setting fire to everything else?

wookiemeister said:

The nitrous might have escaped and couldn’t be shut down

Hybrid rockets are unlikely to explode

Maybe a chamber breech and hot gases escape setting fire to everything else?

More likely I suspect, yes.

wookiemeister said:

The nitrous might have escaped and couldn’t be shut down

Hybrid rockets are unlikely to explode

Maybe a chamber breech and hot gases escape setting fire to everything else?

They need predictive technology

if they already have it, then obviously they need to make it much better

CrazyNeutrino said:

wookiemeister said:

The nitrous might have escaped and couldn’t be shut down

Hybrid rockets are unlikely to explode

Maybe a chamber breech and hot gases escape setting fire to everything else?

They need predictive technology

if they already have it, then obviously they need to make it much better

They need to employ more people with hands on space engineering experience

wookiemeister said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

wookiemeister said:

The nitrous might have escaped and couldn’t be shut down

Hybrid rockets are unlikely to explode

Maybe a chamber breech and hot gases escape setting fire to everything else?

They need predictive technology

if they already have it, then obviously they need to make it much better

They need to employ more people with hands on space engineering experience

I’m sure you have your resume ready.

wookiemeister said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

wookiemeister said:

The nitrous might have escaped and couldn’t be shut down

Hybrid rockets are unlikely to explode

Maybe a chamber breech and hot gases escape setting fire to everything else?

They need predictive technology

if they already have it, then obviously they need to make it much better

They need to employ more people with hands on space engineering experience

I would have looked at performing more ground tests of the rocket using the new fuel

they need to slow down a bit and work out potential problems

I would have looked at performing more ground tests of the rocket using the new fuel

what?

A rocket under test conditions on the ground doesn’t work on the same way

Oxidiser lines can freezer solid when in action in the upper atmosphere – a Saturn V motor shut down when a fuel- oxidiser line froze solid ( normal flexible), shut down supply to motor

Not seen on testing

Damn, that’s bad news bears, especially for the copilot’s family but also for the private space industry.

WP says: The accident was the first flight to use thermoplastic polyamide as the solid portion of the hybrid rocket motor, which replaced the rubber-based fuel grain used for the first series of powered tests.

dv said:

Damn, that’s bad news bears, especially for the copilot’s family but also for the private space industry.

WP says: The accident was the first flight to use thermoplastic polyamide as the solid portion of the hybrid rocket motor, which replaced the rubber-based fuel grain used for the first series of powered tests.

It’s possible the plastic needs heating before it can be burnt. The nitrous needs cracking on start up too.

They should have stuck with what they knew and perfected that instead of endlessly changing stuff

It might be for a very good reason that the shuttle used the rubber fuel

Well I’m sure it used the rubber fuel anyway mixed in with it

Hybrids have tended to use the rubberised fuel

Disregard my last, probably more appropriate here so as not to derail the other thread

AwesomeO said:

An article over on the drum about the accident, thankfully the idiotic article was roundly lambasted in the comments.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-03/rosewarne-when-daredevilry-goes-wrong/5863360

AwesomeO said:

Disregard my last, probably more appropriate here so as not to derail the other thread

AwesomeO said:

An article over on the drum about the accident, thankfully the idiotic article was roundly lambasted in the comments.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-03/rosewarne-when-daredevilry-goes-wrong/5863360

She doesn’t understand it is not for the adrenalin rush that people want to go into space, like bungee-jumping. It is to look upon the Earth from above in wonder. To see it with one’s own eyes. I’ve never bungee-jumped or nude sky-dived, but gee if I had the cash and there was a commercial space-ship in operation – I’d be at the front of the fucking queue.

To slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of dog.

party_pants said:

AwesomeO said:

Disregard my last, probably more appropriate here so as not to derail the other thread

AwesomeO said:

An article over on the drum about the accident, thankfully the idiotic article was roundly lambasted in the comments.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-03/rosewarne-when-daredevilry-goes-wrong/5863360

She doesn’t understand it is not for the adrenalin rush that people want to go into space, like bungee-jumping. It is to look upon the Earth from above in wonder. To see it with one’s own eyes. I’ve never bungee-jumped or nude sky-dived, but gee if I had the cash and there was a commercial space-ship in operation – I’d be at the front of the fucking queue.

There is a shed load she doesn’t understand. The entire article irritated me.

Dropbear said:

To slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of dog.

I’d still do it – even if I had to share a seat with Gina Reinhart or Leigh Sales.

Dropbear said:

To slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of dog.

C’mon men want to go into space to see if three breasted sexy green/blue skinned alien women with a tail exist

Cymek said:

Dropbear said:

To slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of dog.

C’mon men want to go into space to see if three breasted sexy green/blue skinned alien women with a tail exist

The Kirk dream

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/04/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwos-surviving-pilot-managed-to-parachute-from-50000-feet-without-an-oxygen-mask/

“ calling Siebold’s survival miraculous, and they describe his escape like something out of a movie script. According to sources, Siebold found himself flying through the air while still attached to his ejection seat. When he spotted the chase plane, he managed to give the pilot inside a thumb’s up, and then unbuckled himself at about 17,000 feet, deploying his parachute. He landed under his own power and suffered a shoulder injury from the force of the parachute that required minor surgery.”

Wrong lever gets pulled, it all goes to shit, so the pilot bails. You may be asking the same question that I have been asking myself, which is “Why didn’t the copilot bail as well?”. The answer is quite simple – Spaceship 2 was not equipped with ejector seats. The likely scenario from the reports is that the pilot just suddenly found himself travelling at mach 1 and at 50,000 feet after the ship disintegrated around him.

Now, no ejector seat means no oxygen. He had enough of “the right stuff” to wait until he had descended far enough to be able to breathe properly before undoing his seatbelt and popping his chute.

Carmen_Sandiego said:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/04/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwos-surviving-pilot-managed-to-parachute-from-50000-feet-without-an-oxygen-mask/

“ calling Siebold’s survival miraculous, and they describe his escape like something out of a movie script. According to sources, Siebold found himself flying through the air while still attached to his ejection seat. When he spotted the chase plane, he managed to give the pilot inside a thumb’s up, and then unbuckled himself at about 17,000 feet, deploying his parachute. He landed under his own power and suffered a shoulder injury from the force of the parachute that required minor surgery.”

Wrong lever gets pulled, it all goes to shit, so the pilot bails. You may be asking the same question that I have been asking myself, which is “Why didn’t the copilot bail as well?”. The answer is quite simple – Spaceship 2 was not equipped with ejector seats. The likely scenario from the reports is that the pilot just suddenly found himself travelling at mach 1 and at 50,000 feet after the ship disintegrated around him.

Now, no ejector seat means no oxygen. He had enough of “the right stuff” to wait until he had descended far enough to be able to breathe properly before undoing his seatbelt and popping his chute.

If I go on a space trip, I want my own ejector seat and a spacesuit with oxygen

CrazyNeutrino said:

Carmen_Sandiego said:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/04/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwos-surviving-pilot-managed-to-parachute-from-50000-feet-without-an-oxygen-mask/

“ calling Siebold’s survival miraculous, and they describe his escape like something out of a movie script. According to sources, Siebold found himself flying through the air while still attached to his ejection seat. When he spotted the chase plane, he managed to give the pilot inside a thumb’s up, and then unbuckled himself at about 17,000 feet, deploying his parachute. He landed under his own power and suffered a shoulder injury from the force of the parachute that required minor surgery.”

Wrong lever gets pulled, it all goes to shit, so the pilot bails. You may be asking the same question that I have been asking myself, which is “Why didn’t the copilot bail as well?”. The answer is quite simple – Spaceship 2 was not equipped with ejector seats. The likely scenario from the reports is that the pilot just suddenly found himself travelling at mach 1 and at 50,000 feet after the ship disintegrated around him.

Now, no ejector seat means no oxygen. He had enough of “the right stuff” to wait until he had descended far enough to be able to breathe properly before undoing his seatbelt and popping his chute.

If I go on a space trip, I want my own ejector seat and a spacesuit with oxygen

and a parachute

but I dont think Space ship two has ejector seats does it?

you would be ejecting into the ceiling of the cockpit

and that’s if you had ejector seats

but if it had ejector seats

then they would be an opening in the fuselage of the ship

for the ejector seat to pass through

You pulled the lever too soon?

maybe a computer should control the feathering?

computers

make that 2 or 3

Im not making any fun

if there is such a small window

and you need to feel safe

then computers should do the hard work

CrazyNeutrino said:

Im not making any fun

if there is such a small window

and you need to feel safe

then computers should do the hard work

maybe computers should concur with the cards the pilots have?

I would look at the physics of the feathering system

and how it deploys at different heights

computer control it for the different heights when deployed

http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/virgin-galactic-disaster-survivor-peter-siebold-tells-his-story/story-fnjwlcze-1227117428843