Stucky said Mackay and Masucci should have declared an emergency so controllers could have cleared the airspace below them.

I’m not a pilot, but can’t controllers be informed of a flight deviation without an emergency being called? I should hope that an airspace incursion does not require an emergency situation for resolution.

Patrick Underwood,
The problem is less that Unity flew through those altitudes and more that it flew outside the protected zone. Theoretically, an airliner could have been authorized to fly where Unity passed through.

No flight is perfect.

I say that, because as a flight student, I would look back at a flight, and see what I could have done better. It was rare, but twice I found a minor fault with the equipment ( nothing life threatening ).

That being said, I imagine every space voyage, with all the complexities, have some faults. And I certainly hope that the various proprietors are seeking, find, and acting on them.

What I do not know is:
a: Are the faults that Virgin Galactic (VG) finds unique?
b: Are they self-reporting by VG (which implies transparency with a goal toward safer commercial flight) or leaked (implying coverup)?
c: Do other companies have similar issues, but they are simply better at PR than VG?
d: Are these really deal breakers for VG?