Tag: Scaled Composites
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Stratolaunch under new ownership
Stratolaunch’s aircraft flew on its first — and so far only — test flight April 13 from Mojave, California. Credit: Stratolaunch Stratolaunch said Friday that the company has “transitioned ownership” a year after the death of Paul Allen, the company’s billionaire founder who funded the construction of the world’s largest airplane for an airborne satellite…
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Stratolaunch announces plan to fly with Pegasus rockets
An artist’s concept of Stratolaunch’s carrier aircraft with three Pegasus rockets. Credit: Stratolaunch Systems Stratolaunch Systems, a company backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will launch Pegasus XL rockets produced by Orbital ATK from the world’s largest airplane as officials shift focus toward deploying lighter satellites into orbit. Stratolaunch and Orbital ATK announced the “production-based”…
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Video shows SpaceShipTwo just before fatal crash
A video released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane drop from its carrier aircraft, ignite its motor, and prematurely engage its braking system just before disintegrating high above California’s Mojave Desert last October. Investigators concluded Tuesday the cause of the crash, which killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury and injured pilot Peter…
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SpaceShipTwo mishap due to pilot error and company training oversight
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NTSB investigators survey wreckage from SpaceShipTwo following the crash in October 2014. Credit: NTSB The fatal in-flight breakup of Virgin Galactic’s futuristic SpaceShipTwo rocket plane during a test flight last October was the result of pilot error, possibly triggered by a high workload, unfamiliar vibration and rapid acceleration,…