FAA grounds Virgin Galactic pending investigationn
Probably in response to the revelation of the flight issue, not an actual safety issue, the FAA has grounded Virgin Galactic from any further flights pending the resolution of the investigation of the July flight, which drifted out of its planned flight path due to high winds.
This will likely delay their planned next manned flight, which had been tentatively scheduled for September-October.
Posted on the way to Nevada.
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Probably in response to the revelation of the flight issue, not an actual safety issue, the FAA has grounded Virgin Galactic from any further flights pending the resolution of the investigation of the July flight, which drifted out of its planned flight path due to high winds.
This will likely delay their planned next manned flight, which had been tentatively scheduled for September-October.
Posted on the way to Nevada.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
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You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Mark Sticky who was with virgin for around a decade as pilot and chief of flight safety is the main source outing them on this. He was relieved of all duties after the book came out this summer, but was allowed to be present during Branson’s flight. According to his tweets, the spacecraft was not in a steep enough climb and should have aborted according to their own safety procedures. He also stated that there was a serious risk of not being able to make it back to the airfield for landing. https://mobile.twitter.com/Stuck4ger?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Sorry autospell misspelled last name.
Nothing would destroy the space tourism business faster than losing a ship/crew/passengers in an accident caused by people trying to look good in front of the boss.
I wonder if those vertical wing sections experience side to side flutter during launch and landing?
Chris Lopes observed: “Nothing would destroy the space tourism business faster than losing a ship/crew/passengers in an accident caused by people trying to look good in front of the boss.”
Fair dues, in this case, the boss was on the vehicle. Still, a needless risk. Discretion and valor.
Chris Lopes wrote: “Nothing would destroy the space tourism business faster than losing a ship/crew/passengers in an accident caused by people trying to look good in front of the boss.”
I think we can rest assured that at some point there will be a loss of passengers in a spacecraft accident. It happened in aviation, and loss of crew has happened in Spacecraft. We do not yet possess the knowledge to guarantee that it will not happen again in either domain.
How the public and government react after this happens to a paying passenger will certainly determine the future of commercial space.