I think there was a movie about this situation...
Posted on 07/29/2015 7:46:05 AM PDT by Mount Athos
It wasn't until SpaceShipTwo was more than 10 miles above the Mojave Desert and had passed through the sound barrier that Siebold noticed something was seriously wrong.
Seconds later, Siebold heard a loud bang and then a sound — like “paper fluttering in the wind” — which he now knows was the rocket plane breaking apart. And suddenly he was plummeting to Earth.
Siebold said he did not see Alsbury prematurely moving a lever that unlocked the ship's movable tail — a mistake that investigators say started the sequence of events that caused it to come apart.
The rocket ship suddenly began bucking violently, Siebold told investigators, and the “G-levels went through the roof.”
He heard that single loud crack and the cabin rapidly depressurized. The last air was sucked from his lungs.
His next memory is of being outside the plane, hearing the high-pitched whistle of the wind. He felt like he was in “a very high slipstream of some kind.” The rocket ship had broken up around him.
He had to work to open his eyes. And when he did, he saw the desert far below.
It felt as if forces were trying to rip off his helmet. The helmet had twisted to the left and his mask was no longer sealed.
He believes he fell in and out of consciousness. It was extremely cold — more than 40 degrees below zero at 30,000 feet and above.
At that point, there was nothing else around him. The cabin was gone. And he was falling through the clouds. Not tumbling, but in a stable position with his head slightly down.
He went into the free-fall position, spreading his arms and legs.
Somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 feet, his parachute deployed automatically. He said the sudden jolt surprised him
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Free falling at 50,000 feet through space! What a ride!
Dude is lucky to be alive.
I think there was a movie about this situation...
Amazing story.
I hate that the copilot is being thrown under the bus.
SpaceShipTwo was more than 10 miles above the Mojave Desert and had passed through the sound barrier
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How high is the sound barrier?
If that was the Bullock - Clooney movie, the best part was Clooney not surviving.
It really isn’t a barrier...
I remember a story about a stewardess who fell from the sky and lived. I don’t remember the circumstances but she didn’t have a chute.
Here it is:
If only-———————
LOL! Kinda like the one on our southern border? In name only. Easily penetrated.
Did the copilot not screw up?
Virgin Galactic is a Fustercluck, way behind schedule and killed too many people.
Did he beat the world record for freefalling?
Last question was “What does this lever do?”
That was a horrible movie. Other than the CGI, it sucked.
I don’t know. Sometimes it is cheaper to blame pilot error than equipment.
It seems like something that should not have been able to be engaged until re-entry.
I’ve found other articles blaming Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, and the FAA, and I’ve found them to be reasonable. So in a sense the co-pilot is getting more blame than he should. However, If I’m a test pilot for that craft, I’m sure as heck going to know why that lever’s there and when it can and can’t be operated, regardless of whether anybody else is on the ball.
Your totally right. But as an avionics designer I can say that level damn well should not have been allowed to be used at a time when it was guaranteed to destroy the craft. There should have been some type of interlock.
I think so.
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