Billionaire Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson salutes the bravery of test pilots, and vows to find out what caused the crash of his prototype space tourism rocket that killed one crew member and injured another during a news conference in Mojave, Calif., on Nov. 1, 2014.
Law enforcement officers take a closer look at the wreckage near the site where a Virgin Galactic space tourism rocket, SpaceShipTwo, exploded and crashed in Mojave, Calif., on Nov 1, 2014.MOJAVE, Calif. – Investigators say Virgin Galactic’s experimental spaceship broke apart in flight over California’s Mojave Desert after a device to slow the craft’s descent prematurely deployed.
National Transportation Safety Board acting chairman Christophe Hart said Sunday that while no cause for Friday’s crash has been determined, investigators found the “feathering” system was activated before the craft reached the appropriate speed.
The system requires a two-step process to deploy. The co-pilot unlocked the system but Hart said the second step occurred “without being commanded.”
Hart said the SpaceShipTwo’s fuel tanks and engines showed no signs of being compromised.
The co-pilot was killed. The pilot parachuted to the ground and is hospitalized.