VSS Enterprise, the spacecraft involved in the accident, attached to its mothership, VMS Eve
Accident
Date
October 31, 2014 (2014-10-31)
Summary
In-flight break-up caused by design flaw and pilot error
Site
Mojave Desert, California, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type
Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo
Aircraft name
VSS Enterprise
Operator
Virgin Galactic
Registration
N339SS
Flight origin
Mojave Air and Space Port, California, United States
Destination
Mojave Air and Space Port
Occupants
2
Crew
2
Fatalities
1
Injuries
1
Survivors
1
The VSS Enterprise crash occurred on October 31, 2014, when the VSS Enterprise, a SpaceShipTwo experimental spaceflight test vehicle operated by Virgin Galactic, suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup during a test flight and crashed in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California.[1][2] Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed and pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that the breakup was caused by Alsbury's premature unlocking of the air brake device used for atmospheric re-entry. The NTSB said other important factors in the accident were inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training and lack of rigorous oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).[3]
^Cite error: The named reference NYT-20141031-KC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference WRD-201410312-AR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference NTSB_2015-07-28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 27 Related for: VSS Enterprise crash information
The VSSEnterprisecrash occurred on October 31, 2014, when the VSSEnterprise, a SpaceShipTwo experimental spaceflight test vehicle operated by Virgin...
VSSEnterprise (tail number: N339SS) was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. As of 2004, it was planned...
Alsbury were piloting the SpaceShipTwo VSSEnterprise on flight PF04, when the craft came apart in mid-air and then crashed, killing Alsbury and injuring Siebold...
commenced thereafter. VSS Unity is the second SpaceShipTwo to be completed; the first, VSSEnterprise, was destroyed in a crash in late October 2014....
2014, during a test flight, the first SpaceShipTwo VSSEnterprise broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert. A preliminary investigation suggested...
years, and then delayed again, primarily due to the October 2014 crash of VSSEnterprise. The company did the early work on the satellite launch development...
Mayday, known as Air Crash Investigation(s) outside of the United States and Canada and also known as Mayday: Air Disaster (The Weather Channel) or Air...
house" episode. Branson is a Star Trek fan and named his new spaceship VSSEnterprise in honour of the Star Trek spaceships, and in 2006, reportedly offered...
Galactic 06 was a crewed sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity, which launched on 26 January 2024. It was the sixth commercial spaceflight...
2014, during test flight PF04 of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSSEnterprise. Michael was born to Rich and Linda Alsbury in Santa Clara, California...
Galactic Unity 22 was a sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity which launched on 11 July 2021. The crew consisted of pilots David...
VSS Imagine (Virgin Space Ship Imagine), is a SpaceShip III class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It is the first SpaceShip III to be built...
the name shown in stylized font as "SPACESHIP 3". The first Spaceship III, VSS Imagine, was rolled out on 30 March 2021. On that occasion, it was indicated...
Galactic 05 was a crewed sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity, which launched on 2 November 2023. It was the fifth commercial spaceflight...
02 (G02) was a crewed sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity, launched on 10 August 2023. It was the second commercial spaceflight...
took place on 25 May 2023. The flight used their SpaceShipTwo spaceplane VSS Unity. The crew consisted of six Virgin Galactic employees. Unity 25 was...
03 (G03) was a crewed sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity, launched on 8 September 2023. It was the third commercial spaceflight...
September 2016. Jackie Wattles (20 June 2016). "Blue Origin successfully crash tests space-tourism capsule". CNN Money. Archived from the original on 8...
Galactic 04 was a crewed sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity, which launched on 6 October 2023. It was the fourth commercial spaceflight...
2014, during a test flight, the first SpaceShipTwo VSSEnterprise broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert. A preliminary investigation suggested...
approximately US$2.9 million. The inflight breakup and crash of the first SpaceShipTwo vehicle—VSSEnterprise—in October 2014 raised questions about the future...
previously been used to air launch other craft, including the Space Shuttle Enterprise. The use of Cosmic Girl marks the first use of a 747 as a space launch...
deployment of the feathering system was responsible for the 2014 VSSEnterprisecrash, in which the aircraft disintegrated, killing the co-pilot. The feathered...
first woman to make a spaceflight on a commercially launched vehicle, the VSS Unity VF-01 flight of 22 February 2019. She was also part of the six-member...
Global Information