On a sobering edition of Talking Space, the team gathers to discuss the loss of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two on 31 October, 2014 over the skies of the Mojave Desertin California. The ill fated test flight of the VSS Enterprise left the pilot, Peter Siebold,hospitalized and sadly took the life of it's co-pilot Michael Alsbury. The acting administrator of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Christopher A. Hart released some intriguing information during a late night 2 November Press conference that may be the first piece of the puzzle in determining the cause of the accident. Mark Ratterman offers additional insight into how the NTSB painstakingly conducts an accident investigation.
The team then focuses back to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and discusses the information released by Orbital Sciences CEO David Thompson during an investor call on 29 October concerning the failure of the Antares launch vehicle and the loss of the ORB3 Cargo Mission to the International Space Station. The ORB3 Cargo mission was launched on 28 October and disappeared into a fireball over the skies of Virginia's Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The Cygnus cargo ship, Donald K Slayton, was to have docked with the orbiting platform on 2 November. The team discusses was known about the accident on the record date.
Scaled Composites has set up an on line fund to help the family of Michael Alsbury, the pilot lost in the SpaceShipTwo accident. If you wish to contribute visit the GoFundMe site at this link
Show recorded 11/3/2014
Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kathryn "Kat" Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass
Episode 1608: Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
Episode 1607: Staying Healthy in Space: Unpacking the GEARS Experiment
Episode 1606: Delta 4 Heavy Recap; Coping with Mars Sample Return Budget
Episode 1605: Getting the NAC of Things
Episode 1604: Starship Flight 3 Recap; How to Safely Enjoy the Eclipse
Episode 1603: IM-1 Lunar Mission Recap; Interview with Launch-Viewing Rookie
Episode 1602: IM-1 Lunar Lander Launches Successfully; Deep Cuts at JPL a Heartache
Episode1601: Taking Non-Traditional Space Companies and Artisans From Concept to Launchpad: A Conversation With Chantelle Baier of 4Space
Episode 1515: What Do Aussies Think About Space?
Episode 1514: Starship vs. the Fish People, MSR Woes and a Powerful Tale from ASCEND
Episode 1513: What’s a WR? How does it Affect Starship’s Next Launch Date?
Episode 1512: Pretty Plasma Trail, But Not from Starship Anytime Soon?
Episode 1511: Looking Outside the Bubble – A Conversation With Nathan Price
Episode 1510: Artemis III – A Different Mission?
Episode 1509: Starship Launch Delays – a Triple Whammy?
Episode 1508: Starship, ULA & STEM news
Episode 1507: A Secret Mission and … OceanGate’s Titan?
Episode 1506: Shocking Answers to Your Starship Lawsuit Questions
Episode 1505: SpaceX Can’t Slow Down; Starliner’s Pet Black Swan
Episode 1504: Space Debris Risks – Perception vs. Reality With a Little Human Nature Thrown In
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