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| Virgin Galactic crash: Spaceflight company was warned of safety issues, expert claims | Virgin Galactic crash: Spaceflight company was warned of safety issues, expert claims |
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| Virgin Galactic was given warnings several years ago about the danger of its rockets but chose to ignore cautions from experts, it has been claimed. | Virgin Galactic was given warnings several years ago about the danger of its rockets but chose to ignore cautions from experts, it has been claimed. |
| One pilot was killed and another seriously injured in a test flight in the Mojave Desert on Friday, after Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo broke up inflight. | One pilot was killed and another seriously injured in a test flight in the Mojave Desert on Friday, after Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo broke up inflight. |
| Carolynne Campbell-Knight, an expert on rocket propulsion at the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), said she raised concerns with Virgin Galactic over its use of nitrous oxide in its rockets around four years ago. | Carolynne Campbell-Knight, an expert on rocket propulsion at the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), said she raised concerns with Virgin Galactic over its use of nitrous oxide in its rockets around four years ago. |
| Ms Campbell-Knight had contacted Sir Richard Branson’s company in 2009 or 2010 following growing concerns about the programme’s safety measures, after three engineers were killed in an explosion during the testing of a rocket engine on the ground in 2007. | Ms Campbell-Knight had contacted Sir Richard Branson’s company in 2009 or 2010 following growing concerns about the programme’s safety measures, after three engineers were killed in an explosion during the testing of a rocket engine on the ground in 2007. |
| She said nitrous oxide can “go bang in a very unpredictable way,” adding: “My view is from my own engineering experience which I shared with them – they obviously took the position that they knew better.” | She said nitrous oxide can “go bang in a very unpredictable way,” adding: “My view is from my own engineering experience which I shared with them – they obviously took the position that they knew better.” |
| She has said that she was shocked but not surprised that SpaceShipTwo had crashed, assing that that Virgin Galactic should “give up” on the idea of commercial space travel, the first flights of which were due to start next spring. | She has said that she was shocked but not surprised that SpaceShipTwo had crashed, assing that that Virgin Galactic should “give up” on the idea of commercial space travel, the first flights of which were due to start next spring. |
| “[They should] go away and do something they might be good at like selling mobile phones – they should stay out of the space business,” she said. | “[They should] go away and do something they might be good at like selling mobile phones – they should stay out of the space business,” she said. |
| Sir Richard has said he is "determined" to find out what went wrong with the test flight, to learn from it "and move forward". | Sir Richard has said he is "determined" to find out what went wrong with the test flight, to learn from it "and move forward". |
| Richard Branson flew into Mojave late on Friday night to assess the wreckage of Virgin Galactic’s flagship spacecraft The claims come as the Daily Telegraph revealed a US-based British rocket scientist Geoff Daly had contacted the Federal Aviation Agency last year to warn authorities of the dangers posed if Virgin Galactic’s test flights were approved. | Richard Branson flew into Mojave late on Friday night to assess the wreckage of Virgin Galactic’s flagship spacecraft The claims come as the Daily Telegraph revealed a US-based British rocket scientist Geoff Daly had contacted the Federal Aviation Agency last year to warn authorities of the dangers posed if Virgin Galactic’s test flights were approved. |
| “Remember three people have been killed and numerous persons injured by a prior explosion involving [nitrous oxide] in this motor design. We do not need another incident on the ground/flight line or in the air,” he wrote in an email to the FAA in 2013. | “Remember three people have been killed and numerous persons injured by a prior explosion involving [nitrous oxide] in this motor design. We do not need another incident on the ground/flight line or in the air,” he wrote in an email to the FAA in 2013. |
| Virgin Galactic has also been accused of being secretive about its rocket design. | Virgin Galactic has also been accused of being secretive about its rocket design. |
| Tomasso Sgobba, executive director of IAASS and the former head of safety at the European Space Agency, told the Telegraph that Virgin Galactic had refused to share information with industry experts from outside of the company, and did not have its rocket design peer reviewed. | Tomasso Sgobba, executive director of IAASS and the former head of safety at the European Space Agency, told the Telegraph that Virgin Galactic had refused to share information with industry experts from outside of the company, and did not have its rocket design peer reviewed. |
| He said Virgin Galactic was using “outdated methods” that “don’t use modern techniques in putting safety into the design”. | He said Virgin Galactic was using “outdated methods” that “don’t use modern techniques in putting safety into the design”. |
| The British billionaire will have to assess not only the wreckage of Virgin Galactic’s flagship spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, but also the damage done to his dream of taking paying customers to space Virgin Galactic has reportedly lost three of its senior executives in the last year, with the vice president for safety Jon Turnipseed having left just before Christmas, and Thomas Markusic, the vice president for propulsion, having left the company in January this year. It is also understood that the chief aerodynamics engineer left the company in recent months, according to reports. | The British billionaire will have to assess not only the wreckage of Virgin Galactic’s flagship spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, but also the damage done to his dream of taking paying customers to space Virgin Galactic has reportedly lost three of its senior executives in the last year, with the vice president for safety Jon Turnipseed having left just before Christmas, and Thomas Markusic, the vice president for propulsion, having left the company in January this year. It is also understood that the chief aerodynamics engineer left the company in recent months, according to reports. |
| Tom Bower, an investigative journalist and Sir Richard’s biographer, told the BBC’s Today programme last week that he understood Virgin Galactic was swiftly losing its vital engineers. | Tom Bower, an investigative journalist and Sir Richard’s biographer, told the BBC’s Today programme last week that he understood Virgin Galactic was swiftly losing its vital engineers. |
| “All the engineers in California working on the project I’ve spoken to said it was very dangerous, just a few weeks ago the last of many of the Virgin Galactic engineers walked out of the factory and said he’d never work there again,” he told the programme. | “All the engineers in California working on the project I’ve spoken to said it was very dangerous, just a few weeks ago the last of many of the Virgin Galactic engineers walked out of the factory and said he’d never work there again,” he told the programme. |
| Virgin Galactic said it is “co-operating with an independent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board” and declined to comment. | Virgin Galactic said it is “co-operating with an independent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board” and declined to comment. |
| Additional reporting by PA | Additional reporting by PA |