# Virgin Galactic's space ship crashed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160 "2014-10-31T19:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/1 "2014-10-31T19:58:43Z")
It’s been a bad week for space flight. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo [crashed during a test flight.](http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/10/31/virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-suffers-in-flight-anomaly-553581797/) One pilot is dead, another was injured. This was supposed to be that “space tourism” ship. I guess it’s better that it crash now, as opposed to later when it’s full of people. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/2 "2014-10-31T20:42:29Z")
It blew up in flight. I am dreading that one of the pilots was Brian Binnie, who I had the good fortune to meet under extended circumstances a few years ago, after his record-setting SS1 flight. ---
**Author:** ![Fallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Fallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/3 "2014-10-31T20:55:40Z")
I dunno … one in 55 test flights (yes?) suffering a catastrophe isn’t TERRIBLE. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/4 "2014-10-31T20:58:43Z")
> [@Fallen](#): > > I dunno … one in 55 test flights (yes?) suffering a catastrophe isn’t TERRIBLE. 🙂 How many of those flights were rocket powered? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/5 "2014-10-31T21:01:08Z")
Sad, but it’s not the first time and won’t be the last. Space is hard. I read this was the 35th time the ship had been released. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/6 "2014-10-31T21:08:03Z")
Giving brainless prats like this a chance to [squawk pointlessly](http://time.com/3551643/virgin-crash-branson-amateur/)… It’s all Richard Branson’s fault, you see, as it will someday be Elon Musk’s, Jeff Bezos and Paul Allen’s faults, because as billionaire sponsors of private spaceflight efforts _they don’t know enough about engineering to know what they’re doing_. Which means Branson must be standing around about now, wondering if he reconnected the lefthand framistat correctly for this flight. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/7 "2014-10-31T21:33:17Z")
Boy, that guy doesn’t like Branson. Not the first time I’ve heard him criticized though. But, Branson only has _air_ experience, not space experience. Um, like all those other astronaut pilots who were _air_ pilots before becoming space pilots? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/8 "2014-10-31T21:37:38Z")
Damn. I saw a photo of the aircraft/spacecraft on Facebook earlier today, posted by Group 3 Aviation where I used to fly helicopters. I skimmed over it, as I was preoccupied with other things. I’m sorry to hear of this crash; but as others have said, it happens. ☹ > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It blew up in flight. I am dreading that one of the pilots was Brian Binnie, who I had the good fortune to meet under extended circumstances a few years ago, after his record-setting SS1 flight. This reminds me of when I worked at Edwards AFB. My first day on the B-1 program was the day #159 crashed. Doug Benefield, Rockwell’s chief test pilot, was killed. It was an eerie feeling whenever I drove to the B-1 project hangar and saw his tan Porsche 924 sitting in the lot right where he’d parked it. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/9 "2014-10-31T21:50:04Z")
Damn—this is probably going to set everything way back. I’ve accepted that barring a miracle, I’m not going to live long enough to see a human set foot on Mars. But I was willing to settle for commercial tourism of low Earth orbit. Now I’m no longer optimistic about the chances of being able to witness even that. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/10 "2014-10-31T22:06:23Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Giving brainless prats like this a chance to [squawk pointlessly](http://time.com/3551643/virgin-crash-branson-amateur/)… > It’s all Richard Branson’s fault, you see, as it will someday be Elon Musk’s, Jeff Bezos and Paul Allen’s faults, because as billionaire sponsors of private spaceflight efforts _they don’t know enough about engineering to know what they’re doing_. > > Which means Branson must be standing around about now, wondering if he reconnected the lefthand framistat correctly for this flight. Somebody should remind this guy both the Titanic and the Challenger were built by professionals. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/11 "2014-10-31T22:19:45Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Somebody should remind this guy both the Titanic and the Challenger were built by professionals. This is true, but they didn’t have the benefit of simulation experience that Kerbal Space Program provides today. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/12 "2014-10-31T22:28:28Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I guess it’s better that it crash now, as opposed to later when it’s full of people. Yes. That is why you have “test flights” on “experimental” vehicles before offering commercial service. > [@Fallen](#): > > I dunno … one in 55 test flights (yes?) suffering a catastrophe isn’t TERRIBLE. 🙂 For space flight? That’s actually a damn sight better than the 1960’s programs in the US and USSR. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It’s all Richard Branson’s fault, you see, as it will someday be Elon Musk’s, Jeff Bezos and Paul Allen’s faults, because as billionaire sponsors of private spaceflight efforts _they don’t know enough about engineering to know what they’re doing_. Gee, maybe that’s why it’s Scaled Composites and Burt Rutan doing the engineering rather than Mr. Branson himself? > [@Washoe](#): > > Damn—this is probably going to set everything way back. I’ve accepted that barring a miracle, I’m not going to live long enough to see a human set foot on Mars. But I was willing to settle for commercial tourism of low Earth orbit. Now I’m no longer optimistic about the chances of being able to witness even that. ☹ No, I don’t think this is going to set it “way” back, just some back. _Space travel is hard to do_. We’ve also forgotten how many crashes occurred back when air travel was new. Anyhow, Spaceship II is going to be suborbital flight, not low Earth orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/13 "2014-10-31T23:18:15Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > That’s actually a damn sight better than the 1960’s programs in the US and USSR. Though probably far short of what’s necessary for success of a space tourism business. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/14 "2014-10-31T23:18:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Anyhow, Spaceship II is going to be suborbital flight, not low Earth orbit. I know; I was talking like maybe 20 – 25 years down the line, when I still have a high probability of being alive. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/15 "2014-11-01T02:43:44Z")
Interesting quote from Richard Branson (presumably given some time ago), from the end of [this article](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/oct/31/branson-virgin-galactic-space-travel-failures): > [@](#): > > “The biggest worry I had was re-entry,” he has admitted. “Nasa has lost about 3% of everyone who’s gone into space, and re-entry has been their biggest problem. For a government-owned company, you can just about get away with losing 3% of your clients. For a private company you can’t really lose anybody.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/16 "2014-11-01T04:45:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Gee, maybe that’s why it’s Scaled Composites and Burt Rutan doing the engineering rather than Mr. Branson himself? Whoosh ( **AB** was clearly making a joke there at the expense of the article’s author). That said, I’ve never been too impressed with the Virgin Galactic effort. There was never a development path from their vehicle to orbit. I didn’t mind this, necessarily–everyone’s got a hobby. But now there’s a lot of bad press about private space that has nothing to do with efforts that end in LEO and beyond. Musk obviously takes things very seriously. Bezos a tad less so, but Blue Origin gained a lot of cred when ULA contracted with them to buy engines. Allen is behind but at least Stratolaunch isn’t totally insane; it can get to orbit. All of them have some degree of technical ability, even if they aren’t actually designing anything themselves. Branson is… a different case. VG seems like it’s just a toy for him, like Ellison with his racing yachts. Nothing wrong with that, but the media gets confused and puts them all in the same category. And there seems to be something wrong with the safety culture at Scaled Composites. Several years ago, three people died while testing an engine for VG. Yeah, space is hard. But people are dying in the VG program for stupid shit. The articles coming out now are obnoxious but they are hitting on a grain of truth when it comes to VG. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/17 "2014-11-01T15:47:37Z")
Question: Did the copilot eject? Or did he ride it all the way to the ground? Secondary question: What kind of ejection seats did they use? Were the off-the-shelf Martin-Bakers or something? Or were they a new design? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/18 "2014-11-01T15:52:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Question: Did the copilot eject? Or did he ride it all the way to the ground? Co-pilot ejected. I don’t know any other details except that he’s critically injured. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/19 "2014-11-01T16:04:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Co-pilot ejected. I don’t know any other details except that he’s critically injured. From [this site](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-01/virgin-galactic-spaceship-crashes-during-california-test-flight/5859442): > [@](#): > > The co-pilot of the spaceship was killed in the crash, while the pilot, who ejected, was injured, Kern County Sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt said. The NPR article I read also says the copilot was killed. Whichever one suffered the fatal injuries, was he killed in the ejection; or did he not get out? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160/20 "2014-11-01T16:18:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > From [this site](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-01/virgin-galactic-spaceship-crashes-during-california-test-flight/5859442): > > The NPR article I read also says the copilot was killed. > > Whichever one suffered the fatal injuries, was he killed in the ejection; or did he not get out? Tx, didn’t realize it was the co-pilot that died. The details have been scant so far. This is a big story with a lot of implications. The failure of ejection systems is even worse than the rocket failure itself. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-galactics-space-ship-crashed/703160.md?page=2)