Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo crashes: Spaceport America launch date uncertain

A Virgin Galactic spaceship crashed Friday, killing a pilot and leaving another in the hospital.

The SpaceShipTwo was part of Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo and was supposed to launch sometime next year from Spaceport America, right in our own backyard, near Truth or Consequences.

This crash undoubtedly puts the launch date back.

When Abc-7 spoke to C.E.O George Whitesides earlier this month, he said the launch date was not set yet, because they needed to complete additional testing on the vehicles. He was confident the next 6 months would be “exciting” but now it’s uncertain just how this crash will affect Spaceport America’s future.

Virgin Galactic is Spaceport America’s anchor tenant. Spaceport has already invested millions of dollars in Virgin Galactic’s plan to create the world’s first commercial spaceline.

The launch has been delayed several times, due to safety concerns.
Today, the SpaceShipTwo was completely destroyed in the crash, which sets a launch date back even further.

Abc-7 spoke to Whitesides and Spaceport America’s Executive Director, Christine Anderson early October, about the safety aspects surrounding this “grand plan.” Both emphasized Virgin Galactic would not fly until they were ready.

“We prefer to be milestone driven, and so we’ll be getting through our next milestones and then we’ll see where we are, but we are getting close now,” Whitesides said.

“It’s really important to get it right and to be safe, so they’re doing all their due diligence now and testing all their rockets and when it’s safe to fly, that’s when they’re going to be out there flying with us,” Anderson said.

In a news conference Friday afternoon in California, officials emphasized an investigation would need to be completed.

Abc-7 contacted Spaceport America officials, they say it’s too early to determine how the crash will affect their future.

As of Friday afternoon, Virgin Galactic’s office in Las Cruces was closed and their website was down the entire afternoon.