It’s not at all clear to me that it’s in their interest to stir this pot of merde with a lawsuit. I have no trouble believing that they’ve been overhyping safety, because it’s always appeared to be the case to anyone who understands rocketry. For example:
Virgin also advertised the “simplicity and safety” of SpaceShipTwo’s hybrid motor, claiming that the nitrous oxide and rubber used in it were “both benign, stable as well as containing none of the toxins found in solid rocket motors.”
This is a straw man, since few, if any, have ever proposed solids for passenger vehicles (other than NASA).
Basically, Branson made some disastrous business and technical decisions a decade ago, and it’s coming back to haunt him on an ongoing basis.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Related: An update on Spaceport America, who (along with the poor taxpayers of the two counties) was also sold a bill of goods by Branson.
Is this post missing a link?
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/01/12/propulsion-chief-accuses-virgin-galactic-lying-spaceshiptwos-safety-performance/
The URL was there, but I didn’t have it actually linked to anything.
Nitrous oxide “benign and stable”? I thought the stuff was somewhat toxic and prone to going high order if you aren’t very careful.
I’m glad Doug is covering this. Popcorn.
Branson’s Boondoggle. Why does Sir Dick need more money from us New Mexico taxpayers (we’re a poor state) when he’s one of the richest people in the world?
2 flights in 10 years & one of them crashed, while SpaceX is carrying cargo to the ISS.
I’ve written to my reps about this, as usual, follow the money, who is benefitting from this?
The reason he’s wealthy is that he does things with other peoples’ money, not his own.