--- title: "FAA Grounds Virgin Galactic Indefinitely Following Reports of Chaotic Flight" description: "The Federal Aviation Administration is grounding Virgin Galactic until further notice, following a troubling report about Richard Branson's maiden voyage." date: "2021-09-02" modified: "2021-09-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-grounds-virgin-galactic-indefinitely" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "FAA" - "federal aviation administration" - "richard branson" - "the digest" - "virgin galactic" --- # FAA Grounds Virgin Galactic Indefinitely Following Reports of Chaotic Flight ![The Federal Aviation Administration is grounding Virgin Galactic until further notice, following a troubling report about Richard Branson's maiden voyage.]() *\Image: Virgin Galactic\* ## Grounded In a shocking new development, the Federal Aviation Administration is grounding Virgin Galactic until further notice, [according to *Bloomberg*](), following a [troubling report]() that pilots ignoring a red warning light during CEO Richard Branson's maiden voyage in July. "Virgin Galactic may not return the SpaceShipTwo vehicle to flight until the FAA approves the final mishap investigation report or determines the issues related to the mishap do not affect public safety," the FAA wrote in a statement obtained by *Bloomberg*. A report by Nicholas Schmidle [published in *The New Yorker*]() on Wednesday found that the company's space plane veered significantly off course, with Branson on board. Pilots reportedly ignored a red light that should have prompted them to turn off the engines during their ascent. It's a worrying turn for a company intended to help establish tourism to the edge of space — and the move goes to show that US regulators are paying attention and willing to step in if needed, something SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is [all too familiar with](). ## Veering Off During the July flight, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo-class spacecraft, VSS Unity, was dropped from the wing of a much larger aircraft called VMS Eve at an altitude of about 50,000 feet. Rockets then [carried the small spacecraft]() on a trajectory well into the upper atmosphere. But the spacecraft appears to have veered off its intended path, spending a full minute and 42 seconds outside of the airspace designated by the Federal Aviation Administration. According to *The New Yorker*, Virgin Galactic failed to inform the FAA of the abrupt change in plans. The company maintains that the launch was "a safe and successful test flight that adhered to our flight procedures and training protocols," according to a statement obtained by Schmidle, noting that trajectories remained "within mission parameters." But now that FAA has grounded the company indefinitely, Virgin Galactic's next scheduled flight will likely face delays. The plan was to send several members of the Italian Air Force to space later this month. But that only will happen with the go-ahead of the FAA. **READ MORE:** [FAA Grounds Virgin Galactic Pending Probe of Richard Branson’s July Flight]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on the FAA:** *[The FAA May Force SpaceX to Tear Down Its Starship Launch Tower]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()