On Friday, a test flight of the Virgin Galactic failed and crashed in the Mojave desert. One of the two pilots in the crash, a co-pilot named Michael Tyner Alsbury, 39, died in the incident. The pilot, Peter Siebold, 43, survived the crash by parachute but suffered major injuries; he is now being treated at the Antelope Valley Hospital. The Virgin Galactic flight was a program in the making for several years now. It's purpose is to carry passengers, with a fee of $250,000, 62 miles above the earth (the beginning of space) and to experience weightlessness before reaching the ground. The flight was carried by a jet called the WhiteKnightTwo. Problems began with the flight as soon as the WhiteKnightTwo separated from the Virgin Galactic. The White Knight later returned safely to the Mojave Air and Space Port. Questions are still being aroused as to how the flight crashed; further investigations are taking place. Virgin has sold more than 700 tickets and are graciously excepting refunds. Several celebrities had signed up for future flights previously such as Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Stephen Hawking.
This, I agree, is a tragedy. Hopefully Virgin can identify the issue of the flight and use the data to resolve the problem and carry on with the program. My thoughts go to the brave pilots of the incident.
Was this a test flight that crashed? It's unfortunate what happened to the pilots, but if there were paying customers aboard,, that would be even worse. It seems like a cool thing to do if the program is able to ensure more safety.
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