Peter Siebold, the test pilot who survived the crash of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo on October 31, shed further light on the mission’s final seconds after telling investigators he didn’t know that his copilot had unlocked the space plane’s feathering re-entry system earlier than planned.
The spacecraft broke apart high over the Mojave Desert, killing copilot Michael Alsbury, who the National Transportation Safety Board says can be seen on video turning a handle in the cockpit that keeps SpaceShipTwo’s feathering tailboom locked in place. Even though a second handle that commands the tailboom to move wasn’t activated, the locking mechanism is considered a crucial safety feature when the craft is blasting at high speed through the atmosphere toward the edge of space. Two seconds after the mechanism was unlocked, the tailboom popped open uncommanded, investigators say.
