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Spaceship pilot unaware co-pilot unlocked brakes
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THE pilot of the Virgin Galactic spaceship that tore apart over the California Desert didn’t know his co-pilot had prematurely unlocked its brakes, though protocol for the test flight required the co-pilot to announce the step, federal investigators said Wednesday.
Pilot Peter Siebold told the National Transportation Safety Board that he was not aware co-pilot Mike Alsbury had pulled a brake-unlocking lever before the rocket designed one day to fly tourists to the edge of space was done accelerating. Seconds later, SpaceShipTwo began to disintegrate over southern California.
Protocol for the flight was to announce the unlocking, an agency spokesman said.
It is not clear if Siebold didn’t hear Alsbury or the co-pilot never indicated he was taking the action. The safety board plans to analyze flight audio next week, spokesman Eric Weiss said.
Virgin Galactic said it could not comment on the investigation and referred questions to the NTSB. Siebold has not spoken publicly.
The October 31 crash about 190 kilometers north of Los Angeles killed Alsbury, injured Siebold and cast a shadow over the immediate future of space tourism. It could take a year for the NTSB to determine the cause, though Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said last week the company wants to resume test flights as early as next summer.
The goal is to launch spaceships carrying six passengers from a spaceport in New Mexico. For their $250,000 ticket, passengers would get a fleeting feeling of weightlessness and a spectacular view of Earth from about 100 kilometers up.
Siebold was hospitalized after the crash, but when he spoke to investigators Friday he had been discharged.
He told them that he was flung from the vehicle when it disintegrated. He said he unbuckled from his seat during his fall that began kilometers above Earth, and his parachute deployed automatically.
Investigators have not revealed the exact altitude of the breakup, but previous SpaceShipTwo test flights peaked at about 16 kilometers.
While the investigation could take a year, NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher Hart identified the unique “feather” braking system as one focus. The twin tails, or feathers, tilt upright to create drag as the vehicle plummets to Earth.
Co-pilot Alsbury is seen on inflight video unlocking the system before the craft reached Mach 1.0, Hart has said.
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