American bars of Virgin Galactic rocket flights pending setback probe

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday banned Virgin Galactic from flying its SpaceShipTwo until the agency approves its final mishap investigation report of its July flight or determine that the problems do not affect public safety.

The FAA confirmed on Wednesday that it was investigating a diversion in the flight descent of the Virgin Galactic rocket that brought British billionaire Richard Branson to the edge of space on July 11th.

The FAA, which is responsible for protecting the public during the launch and re-entry of commercial space transportation, said “SpaceShipTwo deviated from the air traffic control permit when it returned to Spaceport America” ​​in New Mexico.

“Virgin Galactic may not return the SpaceShipTwo vehicle on the flight until the FAA approves the final report of the mishap investigation or determines that the mishap-related issues do not affect public safety,” the agency said.

Virgin Galactic did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday he acknowledged that “the final trajectory of the flight deviated from our initial plan,” but added that “it did not fly outside the lateral limits of the protected airspace.”

Virgin Galactic said that “the flight fell below the altitude of the airspace … for a short distance and time (1 minute and 41 seconds).”

Virgin Galactic, separately, said Wednesday it was planning another SpaceShipTwo flight from New Mexico and would head to a flight window in late September or early October, pending technical and meteorological checks. This flight must carry three crew members of the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council, he added.

Branson, one of the six Virgin Galactic employees who took part in the July flight, which took off more than 80 miles over the New Mexico desert, had presented the mission as a forerunner of a new era of space tourism and he told the company that founded in 2004 he was about to start business next year.

Report by David Shepardson Edited by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot

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