VSS Unity em voo Divulgação/Virgin Galactic/Twitter
Space
Technology
/ USA
wrong angle
FAA investigates Virgin Galactic's flight into space
By: Rafael Ramos
On: 9/8/2021
VSS Unity
Image: Virgin Galactic
The flight of Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spacecraft is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The space company is prohibited from taking SpaceShipTwo on any flight until regulators have completed their investigations.
"Virgin Galactic cannot resume SpaceShipTwo flights until the FAA approves the final mishap investigation report or determines that issues related to the mishap do not affect public safety," the FAA said in a statement.
What happened was that the spacecraft deviated from the correct angle of climb, which caused the spacecraft not to stay within the established flight limits. That way, the flight could be out of safety.
During the start of the flight, a warning light appeared on the spacecraft's panel. The warning said the flight was not moving at the correct angle.
“The craft was about 20 miles in the air above the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and climbing, traveling more than twice the speed of sound,” said journalist Nicholas Schmidle. “If they didn't hit the route, they would risk a dangerous emergency landing in the desert on their descent. "
The pilots were able to respond to the strong changes in winds and get the flight back on its designated route. However, the spacecraft was 1 minute and 41 seconds off its trajectory, which means that 10% of the trip did not go exactly as planned.
Virgin Galactic said in a statement that the crew was not at risk at all. In addition, he guaranteed that the flight was not above any population center, not causing security problems for the public.
The investigation is ongoing and Virgin Galactic says it is working with the FAA to resolve any issues for future flights.
Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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