This is the next generation spacecraft after the first spacecraft in the SpaceShipOne series won the X-PRIZE a few years ago after it took off twice to the edge of space within a week
The private space industry suffered a malfunction that took a heavy toll on human life - three dead and three injured, all employees of Scaled Composites. The incident took place in the Mojave Desert in California, USA (Mojave Desert) already last Tuesday, but the report about it was given later.
The staff performed an operation called "cold test fire", in which nitrous oxide is pumped into the engine components of the SpaceShipTwo experimental spacecraft. It was supposed to be a routine and safe experiment for the test. They did not drive the entire system. Something that is still under investigation apparently malfunctioned, and the entire engine system exploded. In the photos taken by the news agencies, you can see the remaining parts of a truck with a flat body that was there before the incident. Two of the staff were killed on the spot, and the rest were taken to a hospital in the area. The third worker died of his injuries in the hospital a few days later, and the rest of the injured are in critical condition.
The SpaceShipTwo test spacecraft is a continuation of the test spacecraftSpaceShipOne. This is the spacecraft that won the X-Prize competition when it crossed the 100 kilometer altitude twice in two weeks. Entrepreneur Richard Branson (Entrepreneur Richard Branson) ordered a new and larger model of a spaceshipSpaceShipOnewhich can accommodate seven people and fly them into space - as part of a space tourism project (Virgin Galactic space tourism company).
An investigation has been opened following the incident, more details will be published soon.
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Space exploration with substantial results:
Possible only within the framework of reliable international cooperation, and at most at the level of the frameworks of the developed countries, when exchanges of knowledge and findings take place between them.