Engine glitch mars spacecraft test flight
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely as the spacecraft’s rocket motor failed to ignite and the spacecraft then glided safely to its landing site in southern New Mexico.
The spacecraft’s engine is supposed to ignite moments after the spacecraft is released from a special carrier jet, sending the craft in a near-vertical climb toward the edge of space.
“The ignition sequence for the rocket motor did not complete. Vehicle and crew are in great shape,” Virgin Galactic said in a brief statement on Twitter. “We have several motors ready at Spaceport America. We will check the vehicle and be back for flight soon.”
The hourlong flight was the first from Virgin Galactic’s new headquarters at Spaceport America, a futuristic desert outpost where the aircraft carrying the spacecraft took off at 8:25 a.m.
Before first announcing the spacecraft’s safe return to land and then the problem with the rocket, Virgin Galactic’s updates on Twitter about the flight’s progress were cryptic and sparse during a 15-minute period that began with an announcement that the spacecraft was “go for release” from the aircraft that carried it to the release altitude.
After delays related to the coronavirus pandemic and some dicey weather last week, the crew had been cleared for a morning launch amid clear conditions.
The spaceship was manned by two pilots. There was payload belonging to NASA onboard, but no passengers.