Space Tourism Industry Takes A Blow

Virgin Galactic Keeps Low Profile After Mojave Desert Explosion That Killed 3

(AP)  As a female voice coos, "Welcome to space," six passengers in skintight spacesuits unbuckle their seatbelts and somersault in zero gravity, occasionally peeking back at Earth through the private spaceship's large portholes.

Virgin Galactic showed off this animated video promoting the weightless joys of commercial space travel at a trade show for experimental aircraft last month. But the excitement was overshadowed three days later when a deadly flash explosion rocked a Mojave Desert facility where top-secret tests were underway for Virgin's unfinished spaceship.

The accident at the remote site run by famed aerospace designer Burt Rutan rattled the fledgling space tourism industry, which has enjoyed a honeymoon period since 2004 when Rutan launched SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocket into space.

It also offered insight into how two pioneering companies that forged an unlikely partnership two years ago to fly civilians to space reacted to the tragedy. In a reversal of roles, Richard Branson's publicity-seeking Virgin Galactic kept a low profile while its usually silent partner, Rutan's Scaled Composites LLC, took to the Internet to mourn its workers.

Some space experts believe Virgin Galactic is following the right strategy because the accident was of an industrial nature and not directly related to spaceflight. But eventually customers and the public will demand answers, they say.

"It's natural for a company to not be out there talking immediately afterward. I don't think that would be good PR (public relations)," said Kathleen Allen of the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, who follows the commercial space industry.

Virgin Galactic did privately contact its prized customers known as founders, who have paid the full $200,000 to be among the first to experience four minutes of weightlessness.

Stephen Attenborough, Virgin Galactic's astronaut liaison, reassured the founders in an e-mail that the accident's impact on the first commercial spaceflights - expected in late 2009 or 2010 - will be "minimal" and that it was "business as usual."

In a telephone interview, Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn said it is not the company's place to comment because the blast occurred in Rutan's backyard. He added that four new customers have signed up since the mishap and none of the astronauts-in-waiting have asked for a refund.

"It hasn't affected Virgin Galactic as a business at all," Whitehorn said. "It hasn't put a stop to anything."

The Mojave accident invoked memories of NASA's Apollo 1 tragedy 40 years ago in which three astronauts were killed in a flash fire during a routine launch pad test. The accident forced NASA to temporarily halt its space race with the Soviet Union and make design changes that led to the successful moon landings.

In Scaled's case, three technicians died and three others were critically injured while performing a routine cold-flow test of nitrous oxide that did not involve a rocket firing. The company, which has done the test numerous times before without a problem, uses the chemical as an oxidizer in its spaceship's hybrid rocket motor.

California occupational safety regulators are investigating the July 26 explosion and have six months to complete a report.

The first fatalities of the new space race stunned the commercial space community, which until now has spoken about risks in abstract terms.

[spook-007]

Britain''s Sir Richard Branson''s Virgin Galactic spaceline boasts at the tradeshow that his private space flights will cost only $200,000 -- undercutting Russia''s $20 Million pricetag ...100 fold.

And then... 3 days later in the United States. Virgin has an unfortunate,inexplicable "accident".

Interesting.

And earlier, an ex-KGB agent (Alexander Litvinenko) died in Britain of Polonium 210 poisoning; additional British citizens sickened as collateral damage. Yet, Russian President Vladimir Putin (former KGB) supposedly could not have been pressured by comrades in the Kremlin to allow both of these actions as solutions to threats against Russian security.

Hmmmm. Ignoring this possibility could be a serious mistake. FBI needs to be brought in and examine EVERY SHRED of evidence as to who had the capability of deliberately causing that accident.

[tsumbra]

"Profoundly Incredible Lunar Landing"
www.ilovepoetry.com/viewpoem.asp?id=86700

Just imagine?

[lochlan-2009]

Rutan is an honest and ethical man, unfortunatly, accidents are a part of progress sometimes good and sometimes not. These two men and their companies are bringing us all to the next frontier, I hope they don''t lose sight of that.

[consciousnes]

Where has this artical been? I read this last month when it happened, and nothing has changed.
Burt Rutan said then that they did not have all the answers and also that the fuel being handled was highly flamable. But that is rocket science.

[random_radar]

There was a very high death rate among colonists sailing from Europe to America in early years. 50% deaths was not uncommon. People still risked it because it seemed worth it to them. By comparison, space flight is quite safe.

[dragonmouse-2009]

I''m sorry about the accident, but sometimes it''s the sacrifice that allows us to move forward.

It seems like NOTHING now but everyone should take a trip to Smithsonian''s Air and Space Museum and take a gander at the "first commercial airline"... whoo...People actually paid big bucks to fly in these beasts to eventually evolve to our jet airliners of today. And honestly it really wasn''t all that long ago either.

[spook-007]

From page 1:
"The Mojave accident invoked memories of NASA''s Apollo 1 tragedy 40 years ago in which three astronauts were killed in a flash fire during a routine launch pad test. The accident forced NASA to temporarily halt its space race with the Soviet Union and make design changes that led to the successful moon landings."

From page 2:
"Whitehorn talked about the ease of a Virgin Galactic spaceflight. "You don''t have to learn to speak Russian or train for six months in order to go on SpaceShipTwo," he said. "

...or pay Russia the $20 Million to go up Soyuz style.

It''s probably a legitmate accident. But FBI should be on this... "big time."

... You don''t think so ?

Do you know what Polonium 210 is ?

[cat1dog5075]

"no skin off your hide" but also no brains in your head

[usayesterday]

So many people have died in the name of exploration throughout Earth''s history. If everyone ''threw in the towel'' after just a few deaths, many of us today would have never existed. The countries in the entire Western Hemisphere would have never existed.

The best way to honor those who have died, in this and every other tradgedy, is to learn from their deaths. Learn and correct the mistakes that lead to their deaths in the first place. Exploration and adventure will still move forward and lives will be saved by the lessons learned from those who have perished.