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  1. Home
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  3. October
  4. 31
  5. VSS Enterprise

Events on October 31 in history

VSS Enterprise
2014Oct, 31

During a test flight, the VSS Enterprise, a Virgin Galactic experimental spaceflight test vehicle, suffers a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashes in the Mojave Desert, California,

VSS Enterprise (tail number: N339SS) was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. As of 2004, it was planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic.

It was also the first ship of the Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo class, based on upscaling the design of record-breaking SpaceShipOne.

The VSS Enterprise's name was an acknowledgement of the USS Enterprise from the Star Trek television series. The spaceplane also shared its name with NASA's prototype Space Shuttle orbiter, as well as the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

It was rolled out on 7 December 2009.SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight in April 2013. Richard Branson said it "couldn't have gone more smoothly".Enterprise was destroyed during a powered test flight on 31 October 2014, killing one pilot, Michael Alsbury, and seriously injuring another, Peter Siebold. This was the first spacecraft-related accident in which part, but not all, of the crew survived. An investigation revealed the accident was caused by premature deployment of the "feathering" system, the ship's descent device; the NTSB also faulted the spacecraft's design for lacking fail-safe mechanisms that could have deterred or prevented early deployment.

References

  • VSS Enterprise
  • Virgin Galactic
  • Catastrophic failure
  • VSS Enterprise crash
  • Mojave Desert
  • California

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Events on 2014

  • 18Mar

    Treaty on the Adoption of the Republic of Crimea to Russia

    The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty.
  • 21Apr

    Flint water crisis

    The American city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source to the Flint River, beginning the ongoing Flint water crisis which has caused lead poisoning in up to 12,000 people, and 15 deaths from Legionnaires disease, ultimately leading to criminal indictments against 15 people, five of whom have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
  • 9Aug

    Shooting of Michael Brown

    Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, Missouri, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer after reportedly assaulting the officer and attempting to steal his weapon, sparking protests and unrest in the city.
  • 18Sep

    Scottish independence referendum, 2014

    Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom.
  • 30Oct

    International recognition of the State of Palestine

    Sweden is the first European Union member state to officially recognize the State of Palestine.

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