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

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.

Comments

This was bound to happen.

[Noishkel]

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.

Re:This was bound to happen.

[gweihir]

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.

Re:This was bound to happen.

[BradleyUffner]

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.

Re:This was bound to happen.

[itzly]

They got a paycheck for doing fun stuff. I don't know they were concerned with the "cause of manned space flight", especially since this is only going to be a short sub-orbital entertainment ride. A peek out over the atmospohere, into space. Not actual space "flight".

Re:This was bound to happen.

[Anonymous Coward]

Did they really know the risk? After the Columbia space shuttle tragedy, we learned a lot about the inside culture pushing for result without taking all the required precautions. If you assume your fellow worker is an engineer and will act as such, he should refuse to go ahead with something that has not been proven secure. However, we know this is not what happened in the case of the space shuttles and the NASA. Why should it be different at Virgin Galactic where you have an enormous presure on your shoulder to deliver results asap to satisfy the agenda? No one enrolled at Virgin Galactic to die for it. All resonable assumptions about the engineering environment, good practices, safety and risk management should be taken for granted. For now, the cause of the accident is not exactly known and an investigation is required. You cannot just say this death is nothing and was expected and move on to the next pilot asked to sacrifice his life for his employer which can do anything since the death is expected.

Re:This was bound to happen.

[internet-redstar]

Somewhat maybe. In any case many people just want to experience flying. It is great fun to fly. And testing new planes is a special kind of fun at that. So I'm sure he had fun. And I'm sure he outweighed the fun versus the risk. I'm a frequent paraglider pilot, and even this close to earth lethal accidents do happen.
I for one accept my risks and live to have fun :)

Re:This was bound to happen.

[houghi]

Once the excuse was : "Not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

Now apparently even the "science people" are more interested in the potemtial profits.

Re:This was bound to happen.

[ljw1004]

I'm a frequent paraglider pilot, and even this close to earth lethal accidents do happen.

Close to the earth? I thought all lethal paragliding and parachuting accidents happen right ON the earth!

Re: This was bound to happen.

[Zeromous]

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

Re:This was bound to happen.

[Threni]

No, it's better if you're above the Earth. Less friction, see, and people just say "you're running, really - not flying" if you don't take off.

Need a video

[ModernGeek]

I wish he would release a video of him speaking in the Mojave with the wind going through his hair, somber but uplifting music in the background, and kind words to those who have died for space.

ground based pics of ss2 breakup

[Anonymous Coward]

Ground photos

There was apparently a lot of concern behind the scenes with the new fuel, causing uncontrolled vibrations when used in the existing engine. For example follow @MarkZastrow, or see https://twitter.com/spacecom/status/528278550894227457 "I had deep concerns over both the new plastic/nitrous oxide engine and so did other sources familiar with the testing".

Re:ground based pics of ss2 breakup

[MichaelSmith]

Consistency is a big issues with solid fuels. The shuttle SRBs were paired during construction, and the fuel was poured at the same rate into each engine from the same source. That way if the engine developed more or less thrust because of a variation in the consistency of the solid fuel, it would happen on both sides of the shuttle. Liquid fuels mix themselves, but a mixing problem is locked in to solid fuels until you burn them. I just wonder if a mistake was made during construction which caused a sudden increase in engine pressure, above that caused by the greater efficiency of this new fuel.

Re:ground based pics of ss2 breakup

[SternisheFan]

Found this blog from the comments section of an ArsTechnicas followup story. It gives the reader an interesting timeline of the VirginGalactic spaceships.

www.parabolicarc.com/2014/10/30/apollo-ansari-hobbling-effects-giant-leaps/

Ars story here:

arstechnica.com/science/2014/11/spaceshiptwo-crash-virgin-galactic-to-assess-what-went-wrong/

Re:ground based pics of ss2 breakup

[amorsen]

The engine is a hybrid, not a solid. Hybrids very rarely go boom, but some of them have the ability to pretend to be monopropellant (e.g. if they use hydrogen peroxide or nitrogen oxide for the oxidizer) or liquid fuelled (if the fuel is allowed to melt or vaporize without burning or if other combustibles are somehow allowed inside the engine). In both cases, booms are very much possible.

Re:ground based pics of ss2 breakup

[SternisheFan]

This uses nitrous oxide for the mixture. 3 VirginGalactic engineers died, 3injured, during a test where no fuel was used, just the nitrous oxide. From the Article linked below, posted one day before this accident.....

...But, there was a deeper, more fundamental problem that Rutan wasn’t even aware of, one that has bedeviled the program to this day.

SpaceShipOne had reflected Rutan’s strengths in designing radical flying machines. The use of lightweight but strong carbon composites and the unique feathering system for re-entry were innovative. They represented major advances over the X-15 rocket plane that had flown suborbital missions 40 years earlier.

In terms of its propulsion system, SpaceShipOne was actually a step backward. The X-15 had used the XLR-99, a sophisticated bi-propellant liquid engine that could be throttled, restarted and used multiple times. It was complicated and prone to failure; one blew up on Scott Crossfield during a static test, destroying the vehicle but sparing the pilot’s life.

Rutan steered away from liquid engines; he viewed them as being overly complicated and possessing too many failure modes. Instead, he developed a novel hybrid motor that used nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to burn a large chunk of rubber fuel. SpaceShipOne was the first time a hybrid engine had been used in human spaceflight.

The hybrid worked well enough for SpaceShipOne. However, the motor ran rough, shaking the ship due to the uneven burning of the rubber. On one flight, the pilot heard a loud bang and feared the ship’s tail had been blown off. It turned out to be a chunk of rubber that had shot out the nozzle. The tail was still there.

The hybrid also was expensive because the rocket casing containing the rubber and the attached nozzle needed to be replaced after each flight. Like the space shuttle, the partially reusable nature of SpaceShipOne drove up operating costs and complexity. It was like driving a car from Mojave to Los Angeles and back, and then installing a new engine before making the trip again.

After the Ansari X Prize, some people tried to convince Rutan to replace the hybrid with a reusable liquid engine. He rejected the advice. Rutan came out of SpaceShipOne’s short flight test program believing the hybrid engine was simple and safe, and that it could be easily scaled up for the much larger SpaceShipTwo. He was wrong on both counts.

The first belief was shattered on a hot summer afternoon of July 26, 2007. Scaled engineers were conducting a cold flow of nitrous oxide that did not involve igniting any fuel. Three seconds into the 15-second test the nitrous tank burst, resulting in a massive explosion that destroyed the test stand and killed three engineers. Three others were injured.

www.parabolicarc.com/2014/10/30/apollo-ansari-hobbling-effects-giant-leaps/

Tourism

[rossdee]

Space tourism is still more attractive than cruise ship tourism

Re:Tourism

[SternisheFan]

I don't think the purpose of VirginGalactic is spaceflight. It's true end goal is a 1/2 hour NY to Tokyo flight.

Re:Tourism

[DaHat]

Currently.

There was once a time that traveling across the ocean in any kind of vessel was a rather dangerous thing... it is now rather common and safe, as is air travel today, something that was far more risky ages ago.

Technology, methods and understanding of the systems involved increase over time... and one day a trip into a sub orbital space will be just as safe as a road trip or flight to the other side of the country (or planet). ... next up, orbital flight and beyond.

Re:Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

[pushing-robot]

But there's no sense crying over every mistake.

Progress comes at a cost

[Going_Digital]

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.

Re:Progress comes at a cost

[50000BTU_barbecue]

Who is "we"? Did Branson sit his geriatric ass in there? Funny how the risks are always taken by the plebes, the rewards taken by the already rich.

Re:Progress comes at a cost

[JimMcc]

And how is this different than most other endeavors throughout time which need significant funding? How many men were lost at sea exploring the world in search of trade goods for the ships owners? The list is virtually endless. I'm sure that Oog sent Uma to a probable death in trying to kill a sabertooth tiger in order to have the teeth to trade with the neighboring clan. Nothing has changed, and nothing will.

Re:Progress comes at a cost

[DexterIsADog]

Who is "we"? Did Branson sit his geriatric ass in there? Funny how the risks are always taken by the plebes, the rewards taken by the already rich.

Yeah, the nerve of that old guy, letting the younger engineers and test pilots engineer and then test his spacecraft.

Why, I'm sure he never took any risks with his own life, that chickenshit...
http://www.virgin.com/news/richard-bransons-ballooning-adventures

Re:Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

[Ol Olsoc]

>> Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

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

Quickly. Get to your safe room in your gated community, for there are dangers everywhere. Thugs, automobiles, trucks, ebola, avian flu, tainted food, airplanes.

Because life is scary, safety is more important than anything else, and no exceptions. So take your maintenance meds, and try to live as long as possible in safety.

It's pathetic that in the USA today, agoraphobia is becoming a recommended lifestyle.

Re:Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

[JimMcc]

Oh no, can't sit on the living room couch. An engine might fall off a passing jetliner, crash through your roof, and kill you. Better get in your bomb shelter in the basement. Or, since you will need to remove all joy and sensation from life in order to be "safe", just skip to the end game instead.

Flaws in Liquid Solid Engine

[catchblue22]

I have been reading lately that there has been serious concern about the liquid-solid hybrid engine used in Spaceship 2. In 2007 there was a nitrous oxide explosion that killed three people.

On 26 July 2007, during the early rocket testing phase, an explosion occurred during a propellant flow test at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The test included filling the oxidizer tank with 4,500 kg (10,000 pounds) of nitrous oxide, followed by a 15-second cold flow injector test. Although the tests did not ignite the gas, three employees were killed and three injured, two critically and one seriously, by flying shrapnel.[12]

parabolicarc.com is a pretty good source of information on New Space. Here are some tweets:

Parabolicarc.com @spacecom Oct 31

I had deep concerns over both the new plastic/nitrous oxide engine and so did other sources familiar with the testing. #SpaceShipTwo

The concerns were three fold. One, that it wasn't being tested sufficiently on the ground before it was flown. #SpaceShipTwo

Second: that modifications required to ship to accommodate the new engine introduced additional complexity and failure modes. #SpaceShipTwo

Third, handful of test flights they were doing with new #SpaceShipTwo engine before putting Richard and Sam Branson aboard were insufficient

Let me stress2 things: one, we don't know what happened yet, so I'm not making a snap judgment about what caused the accident #SpaceShipTwo

Second, these concerns about the new engine were not mine alone. Folks much smarter and knowledgble than me were worried. #SpaceShipTwo

I predict you will be hearing a lot more about these concerns and the problems they were having in the days and weeks ahead #SpaceShipTwo

Scaled's Kevin Mickey called the engine change "a minor nuance". He rushed out of the press conference once it was over.

Mickey claimed "minor nuance" engine change thoroughly tested on ground. Tried to ask for details, but presser ended quickly & Mickey left.

Ken Brown was taking photos through the entire incident. Tracked one large piece of debris down to the lakebed. #SpaceShipTwo

I heard Ken say, "They're in trouble." And then "They're tumbling. Ken's pictures will be very crucial to understanding it. #SpaceShipTwo

Just talked to Ken Brown. Pictures show Engine fired fine, then there's a white plume. He thinks the nitrous oxide tank blew. #SpaceShipTwo

I am a huge supporter of commercial space, most especially Space X. But I think that accidents like this give the whole sector a bad name. Virgin Galactic/SC have been building this ship for 10 years, and they still don't have a viable engine. That is not a good sign.

Contrast that with Space X, which in about the same amount of time has built the Falcon 9, which has a string of 13 straight successes (touch wood). It seems to me that not all space companies are created equal.

Half full or half empty?

[mi]

Although half the crew died, I, for one, am astounded, that the other half survived in a crash, that "completely destroyed" the ship...

Re: Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'

[K. S. Kyosuke]

It would be really awkward if that one crashed as well. :-/