US aviation investigators say they now know how Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo broke up in mid-flight, but don't yet know why. The crash tragically killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury and seriously set back CEO Richard Branson's space tourism program. NTSB chairman Christopher Hart said that the tail section on SpaceshipTwo (shown above), which is normally used only during descent below Mach 1.4, deployed shortly after the rockets fired. Seconds later, the ship broke up due to the extra atmospheric drag and crashed into the Mojave desert. Normally, a two-step procedure is required to enable tail deployment: first it has to be unlocked, then a lever is moved by pilots to "feather" it into position.
The NTSB said that for some unknown reason, Alsbury unlocked the tail at Mach 1, rather than at Mach 1.4 as is normal procedure during the rocket-powered ascent. Nevertheless, neither pilot reportedly touched the feathering lever, so the tail shouldn't have moved anyway. Investigators said it will take months to figure out exactly why it apparently deployed on its own, and why the pilots may have unlocked it early in the first place. Early speculation on the crash focused on the use of a plastic-based rocket fuel that had never been flight-tested, but that now appears to be unrelated to the crash.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Via: NBC
Source: http://" target="_blank">NTSB (YouTube0
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