During the course of the investigation into what happened during the failure of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo test flight, the National Transportation Safety Board dispelled rumors that the hybrid fuel was the cause of the disaster that left one injured and one dead.
According to a briefing by the NTSB, the spacecraft's "feathering" system was deployed too early. "Feathering" refers to the rotation of the twin rudders to create drag upon reentry, explained Fox News. The handle was never switched to "feather" mode and the handle was moved to "unlock" while at Mach 1.0, not the recommended Mach 1.4.
NTSB later released a statement clarifying its findings, saying "...the copilot, who was in the right seat, was the one who moved the lock/unlock handle into the unlock position. The copilot did not survive the accident."
Despite the accident, Virgin Galactic is full-speed ahead with its plan to make space the next hot tourist spot. "While this has been a tragic setback, we are moving forward and will do so deliberately and with determination," Virgin Galactic wrote in a statement. "We are continuing to build the second SpaceShipTwo (serial number two), which is currently about 65% complete and we will continue to advance our mission over the coming weeks and months."
"With the guidance of the NTSB and the assurance of a safe path forward, we intend to move ahead with our testing program and have not lost sight of our mission to make space accessible for all," Virgin Galactic continued. "We owe it to all of those who have risked and given so much to stay the course and deliver on the promise of creating the first commercial spaceline."
