FAA Investigating Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Spaceflight
The race to space might have come with a few errors as the FAA is investigating Richard Branson’s spaceflight.
According to The New Yorker Virgin’s craft went off-course during descent, triggering an “entry glide-cone warning.”
Virgin Galactic responded that “when the vehicle encountered high altitude winds which changed the trajectory, the pilots and systems monitored the trajectory to ensure it remained within mission parameters.”
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 28: Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic, poses for photographs before ringing a ceremonial bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to promote the first day of trading of Virgin Galactic Holdings shares on October 28, 2019 in New York City. Virgin Galactic Holdings became the first space-tourism company to go public as it began trading on Monday with a market value of about $1 billion. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“At no time did the ship travel above any population centers or cause a hazard to the public. FAA representatives were present in our control room during the flight and in post-flight debriefs. We are working in partnership with the FAA to address the airspace for future flights,” the representative added.
As we reported, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity left earth July 11. Billionaire Richard Branson and a few passengers aboard, but this isn’t his first time making this attempt. He has previously made 20 test flights and 3 of which he reached the edge of space, according to CNN.
“We’re here to make space more accessible to all. We want to turn the next generation of dreamers into the astronauts of today and tomorrow. We’ve all us on this stage have had the most extraordinary experience, and we’d love it if a number of you can have it, too,” Branson said at the time. “If you ever had a dream, now is the time to make it come true. I’d like to end by saying welcome to the dawn of a new space age.”
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – MAY 07: Sir Richard Branson poses in front of an aircraft at Perth Airport on May 7, 2013 in Perth, Australia. Virgin Australia purchased Perth-based regional airline, Skywest adding another 32 planes to it’s fleet to expanding the airlines regional operations in Australia. (Photo by Matt Jelonek/WireImage)
