Statement from Virgin Galactic

07.11.14

To our friends and family all around the world,

Today marks one week since the tragic accident on SpaceShipTwo’s fourth rocket-powered test flight. The number of messages that have flowed in to us from all around the world expressing sympathies and condolences have been truly, truly helpful. Our team still hurts as we mourn the passing of a dear friend and the injury to another. Many have expressed a desire to help the families; one fund has been established here. There is another hole in our hearts that was once filled by the vehicle itself: Enterprise, the first SpaceShipTwo. We have worked with and flown on Enterprise for four years, and were so eager to see her reach her natural element of outer space in the next few months.

But your messages of support have lifted our spirits.

Not only have you comforted us in a time of loss, you have told us to take courage, and to continue pressing forward with resolve. You have told us that you also believe that the space frontier must be opened, just as we do. For that, we thank you.

And we want to share with you our story, as we move forward. The lessons of October 31st will be learned, and our system and our team will be made stronger for it. The second SpaceShipTwo is already two-thirds complete, and our team are pouring themselves into that project with heightened resolve. Our will is indefatigable, and our team is determined.

In the near future, we’ll replace this temporary webpage with a more thorough site designed to help you understand who we are, what we are doing, and why . On that site, we’ll share with you the story of the construction and testing of the second SpaceShipTwo, the story of the ongoing development of our LauncherOne small satellite vehicle, and more.

For now, though, I leave you with this message of sincere thanks and resolve.

Ad Astra,

George T. Whitesides

CEO, Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company

04.11.14

Over the past several days, we have received new information about the tragic incident that resulted in the death of Scaled Composites’ co-pilot Michael Alsbury and injuries to pilot Peter Siebold. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and friends of these brave men. The following summarizes what has been learned from the formal investigation.

On October 31, 2014, SpaceShipTwo conducted a powered test flight and experienced a serious anomaly that resulted in vehicle failure. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is in charge of the investigation and we are cooperating fully with their work. While we cannot speculate on the causes of the incident, the NTSB has provided important information about the facts surrounding this case and in their final onsite press conference they described a timeline of events based on the telemetry data in their possession. The investigation will now continue offsite.

Based on information they have released about their investigation to date, the NTSB has recovered the intact engine and rocket propulsion fuel tanks with no signs of burn through or mid-air explosion. This definitively dismisses the premature and inaccurate speculation that the problem was related to the engine or the fuel.

The NTSB also evaluated the vehicle’s feathering mechanism, which is the unique technology that turns the wing booms into position for re-entry. The NTSB indicated that the lock/unlock lever was pulled prematurely based on recorded speed at the time, and they have suggested that subsequent aerodynamic forces then deployed the feathering mechanism, which resulted in the in-flight separation of the wings and vehicle. At this time, the NTSB investigation is still ongoing and no cause has yet been determined – these are purely facts based on initial findings. We are all determined to understand the cause of the accident and to learn all we can.

At Virgin Galactic, safety is our guiding principle and the North Star for all programmatic decisions. Our culture is one of prioritizing safety as the most important factor in every element of our work, and any suggestions to the contrary are untrue. We are committed to learning from this incident and ensuring something like this can never happen again. To that end, we will work closely with the NTSB and will focus intense effort on its findings and guidance.

For Virgin Galactic, everything rests on our vision of creating accessible and democratized space that will benefit humanity in countless ways for generations to come. Like early air or sea technologies, the development is not easy and comes with great risks, but our team of more than 400 dedicated engineers and technicians are committed to realizing the potential of this endeavor. From research, to travel, to innovation, we believe that the technology our industry is pioneering is crucial to the advancement of humanity.

Over the last few days, we have been so grateful for the outpouring of support and inspiration shared by countless Future Astronauts (customers), members of the space community and the public at large. Testing programs, reaching back to early aviation, have distinct risks, and our customers know that we will not move ahead with commercialized space travel until our expert engineers and pilots deem the program to be safe. These are among the brightest and most experienced professionals in the industry and our success has and will continue to be ensured by their expertise.

While this has been a tragic setback, we are moving forward and will do so deliberately and with determination. 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. 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.

02.11.14

Over the past few days, there has been speculation about the tragic incident the resulted in the death of Scaled Composites’ pilot, Michael Alsbury, injuries to pilot Peter Siebold and the loss of SpaceShipTwo. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families and friends of these brave men.

We understand that everyone is anxious to understand what happened on Friday; certainly no one wants to know more than we do. However, as we have made clear, Virgin Galactic is not in a position to comment on the incident itself or the test flight. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is in charge of the investigation and we are cooperating fully with their work. All inquiries should be directed to them.

At Virgin Galactic, we are dedicated to opening the space frontier, while keeping safety as our ‘North Star’. This has guided every decision we have made over the past decade, and any suggestion to the contrary is categorically untrue. We have the privilege to work with some of the best minds in the space industry, who have dedicated their lives to the development of technologies to enable the continued exploration of space. All of us at Virgin Galactic understand the importance of our mission and the significance of creating the first ever commercial spaceline. This is not a mission that anyone takes lightly.

Everything we do is to pursue the vision of accessible and democratized space – and to do it safely. Just like early air or sea travel, it is hard and complicated, but we believe that a thriving commercial space industry will have far reaching benefits for humanity, technology and research for generations to come. This is an important mission and we have been overwhelmed and grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from our future astronauts, friends in the industry and people all over the world who are inspired by the work our industry is doing and who are urging us to continue.

Now is not the time for speculation. Now is the time to focus on all those affected by this tragic accident and to work with the experts at the NTSB, to get to the bottom of what happened on that tragic day, and to learn from it so that we can move forward safely with this important mission.

Press Contacts

Please direct all media requests about the investigation to the NTSB at eric.weiss@ntsb.gov.All media requests about Virgin Galactic should be directed to VirginGalacticPress@edelman.com.

31.10.14

Virgin Galactic’s partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today. During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft landed safely.

The Virgin Galactic team is cooperating with our partners at Scaled Composites and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as well as local authorities. We understand that the NTSB is scheduled to arrive in Mojave tomorrow morning (Saturday Nov. 1) to commence their investigation, which is expected to last several days.

Local authorities have confirmed that one of the two Scaled Composites pilots died during the accident. The other pilot parachuted to the ground and is being treated at a local hospital. All of us at Virgin Galactic are deeply saddened by today’s events. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those affected by this accident.

George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, provided the following statement:

“Our primary thoughts at this moment are with the crew and family, and we’re doing everything we can for them now. I’d like to recognize the work of the first responders who we work with in the Antelope Valley for their efforts on behalf of the team. We’re also thinking of the team members that we have at the companies that have been working on this program.

Space is hard and today was a tough day. We are going to be supporting the investigation as we figure out what happened today. We’re going to get through it. The future rests in many ways on hard days like this, but we believe we owe it to the team, that has been working so hard on this endeavour, to understand this and to move forward. And that is what we’ll do.”

Sir Richard Branson is on his way to Mojave and is expected to arrive by early Saturday morning.

We understand your interest in additional information. It is our understanding that there will be another press conference over the weekend at the Mojave Air & Space Port. We will post any logistical details as they become available, and we will provide another update from Virgin Galactic at that time in conjunction with the press briefing.

All press enquiries regarding todays test flight incident should be forwarded to: VirginGalacticPress@edelman.com.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/statement-from-virgin-galactic/