Virgin Galactic has issued a press release following a failed take a look at over the weekend.
The corporate mentioned, through the take a look at flight, the rocket motor “didn’t hearth because of the ignition sequence not finishing”.
Following this occasion, the pilots carried out a protected touchdown and return to Spaceport America, New Mexico as deliberate.
Virgin Galactic is now conducting post-flight evaluation and may to this point report that the onboard pc which displays the propulsion system misplaced connection, triggering a fail-safe situation that deliberately halted ignition of the rocket motor.
This technique, like others on the spaceship, is designed such that it defaults to a protected state each time energy or communication with sensors is misplaced.
The pilots within the spaceship, in addition to the engineers and pilots in mission management, are effectively ready for any off-nominal outcomes, as they plan and rehearse many potential situations throughout pre-flight simulation observe periods, together with a situation the place the rocket motor doesn’t ignite after launch from the mothership.
Michael Colglazier, chief government, Virgin Galactic mentioned: “Our flight landed fantastically, with pilots, planes, and spaceship protected, safe, and in wonderful form — the inspiration of each profitable mission!
“The flight didn’t attain area as we had been planning.
“After being launched from its mothership, the spaceship’s onboard pc that displays the rocket motor misplaced connection.
“As designed, this triggered a fail-safe situation that deliberately halted ignition of the rocket motor. Following this incidence, our pilots flew again to Spaceport America and landed gracefully as traditional.”
He added: “As we do with each take a look at flight, we’re evaluating all the information, together with the foundation trigger evaluation of the pc communication loss.
“We stay centered on the take a look at flight program we now have beforehand introduced, starting with a repeat of this take a look at flight, which included two pilots and NASA payloads.
“This will likely be adopted by one other take a look at flight which is able to embrace mission specialists within the cabin.
“And following that flight, we could have one other take a look at flight which is able to embrace our founder, Richard Branson.
“We sit up for sharing info on our subsequent flight window within the close to future.”
