[url=http://www.virgingalactic.com/statement-from-virgin-galactic/]Surprised this thread hasn't been started here yet.[/url]

Over last weekend, the successor-craft to Virgin-Galatic's SpaceshipOne crashed during a powered test roughly 15 seconds after release while traveling at a velocity of approximately mach 1.02, resulting in the loss of the co-pilot. The pilot managed to bail-out safely and has been both reported to be alert and talkative, and in critical condition; depending on the news-source.

NTSB has largely ruled-out explosion, and it is being suggested that the plane ripped itself apart when the air-brakes/feathers deployed while accelerating through mach 1 to mach 1.4, potentially causing them to catastrophically shear-off. However this is speculation based on the perceived fact that the booms deployed early after only being 'unlocked' for less than two seconds, and were the first parts to detach from the ship.

This was however, not the ship's first test-flight (this was its 55th), nor was it the first powered test-flight (4th).

I will be monitoring the situation in hopes that the pilot and feathering system, like the propulsion system, are vindicated in some way.
-And although it wasn't in space when the pilot bailed-out, I'm sure bailing out from a disintegrating spacecraft and living to tell about it [i]is[/I] a first.

Thoughts on the situation?