Scaled Composites controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2014
VSS Enterprise in-flight breakup
SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise broke apart during a powered test flight. Pilot Michael Alsbury died and pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured. The vehicle was destroyed, making the accident one of the most serious setbacks in the early commercial-spaceflight program.
2007
SpaceShipTwo ground-test explosion
An explosion during testing of SpaceShipTwo systems killed three Scaled employees and injured three others. The incident highlighted the hazards of testing nitrous-oxide propulsion-related systems and prompted scrutiny of safety practices in experimental commercial-space development.