US halts space flights for tour operator Virgin Galactic

The US aviation association has halted the launch of Virgin Galactic tour operator Richard Branson’s flights to space, due to the failure of one of the SpaceShipTwo flights, which led to a diversion.

The American authorities decided that until the investigation into the location of the ship’s failure, they would not allow more ships to be sent into space. “Virgin Galactic will not be able to return the SpaceShipTwo to flight until the FAA approves the final accident investigation report or determines that issues related to the accident do not affect public safety,” the FAA said.

As reported by The New Yorker on this voyage, Branson was involved and ensured that the ship experienced serious failures that would put the lives of the crew and passengers at risk. However, Virgin Galactic spokesperson Barney Gimbel confirmed to CNN that the flight had undergone changes but did not endanger anyone.

“When the letter indicated that the pilots had to adjust the velocity trajectory to adjust the trajectory, they followed exactly the steps they were trained to do and followed all prescribed procedures,” Gimpel said.

Similarly, he stated, “Although the final flight path deviated from our initial plan, it was a controlled and deliberate flight path that allowed Unity 22 to successfully reach space and land safely at our spaceport in New Mexico.. Passengers and crew were not endangered in any time because of this change of course.” (Video – This is how Richard Branson lived his first tourist trip into space).