It wasn’t SpaceShipTwo’s hybrid rocket motor -- which was flying on Friday with a new type of fuel -- that caused the fatal crash, the head of the accident investigation agency said late Sunday.
The ship’s fuel tanks and its engine were recovered intact, indicating there was no explosion......Instead, data and video relayed from the ship show its hallmark safety feature -- a foldable tail section designed for easy re-entry into the atmosphere from space -- was deployed early.“The engine burn was normal up until the extension of the feathers,” said Hart.
Normally, the feather system wouldn’t be unlocked until the rocket-powered spaceship is moving about Mach 1.4, or 1.4 times faster than the speed of sound. Instead, the co-pilot moved the lever from locked to unlock when the spaceship was traveling at about Mach 1, Hart said....... It was released as planned from its carrier jet at an altitude of about 45,000 feet. Seconds later, the spaceship’s hybrid motor, which was using a new plastic propellant, powered up.
About nine seconds later, the ship’s feathering system was unlocked, said Hart. Two seconds after that, the ship’s tail section moved toward the deployed position.
"This was an uncommanded feather, which means the feather occurred without the feather lever being moved into the feather position," Hart told Discovery News. “Shortly after the feathering occurred, the telemetry data terminated and the video data terminated,” he said
