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SpaceShipTwo Pilot Named; Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

Posted by timothy on from the heavy-blow dept.

astroengine writes Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson has arrived in the Mojave Desert, Calif., in the wake of the tragic explosion and crash of the company's SpaceShipTwo vehicle. The rocket-propelled space plane was completely destroyed Friday morning during a test flight. One of the two test pilots, employed by SpaceShipTwo development company Scaled Composites, was killed and the second pilot was rushed to a local hospital where he is described as having "major injuries." A spokeswoman for Kern's County Coroner's Office told the Los Angeles Times that project engineer and test pilot Michael Alsbury died in the accident. Alsbury was 39-years-old and had been working with Scaled for 14 years. The second pilot, who was able to parachute to safety, has not been named.

6 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together' by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1, Insightful

    >> Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

    "You know...without the guy that died...but other than THAT. (Awkward.)"

  2. This was bound to happen. by Noishkel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Going into space is a dangerous endeavor. And there was bound to be looses. Hell they'll be MORE as time does by. Probably a LOT more. Either we can (collectively) give up now or learn from the loses and continue on.

    1. Re:This was bound to happen. by gweihir · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually, the question is whether there are any real benefits to going into space with people at this time. I agree on the losses though: Either be able to life with them or scrap the whole idea of space.

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      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    2. Re:This was bound to happen. by BradleyUffner · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The people who have died in the cause of manned space flight knew the risks and accepted them. No one forced them to do these dangerous things. They obviously thought the benefits outweighed the risks.

    3. Re: This was bound to happen. by Zeromous · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Lets take a moment to remember Justin Beiber has purchased a ticket.

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      ---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
  3. Progress comes at a cost by Going_Digital · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For all the naysayers out there we can not help the fact that if we want to progress we must take risks. The people involved in this project knew the risk and their work will further our understanding of space travel. This person died doing something he knew was dangerous and presumably enjoyed doing. To stop would be the worst thing as his death would have been in vain.