Michael Alsbury

Michael Tyner Alsbury
Commercial Astronaut
Nationality American
Born 1975
Died October 31, 2014
Mojave Desert near Cantil, California
Other occupation
 Test Pilot
Missions None

Michael Tyner Alsbury (1975 – 31 October 2014) was an American test pilot for Scaled Composites, killed on test flight PF04 of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise on 31 October 2014.[1][2] At the time of his death, he had 1800 flight hours, 1600 of them as a test pilot and engineer with Scaled Composites.[2] In 2013, he was the co-recipient of the Ray E. Tenhoff Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.[2]

Personal life

Alsbury had been a flying enthusiast since childhood.[3] He graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering.[2][3] Alsbury was married to Michelle Saling for 12 years and had two children, aged 7 and 10 at the time of his death.[2][4]

Career

Alsbury joined Scaled Composites in 2001 and began working as a project engineer and pilot.[2]

In April 2013, he served as copilot to Mark Stucky on the first powered flight for VSS Enterprise and SpaceShipTwo.[2]

In 2013, he received the Ray E. Tenhoff Award for the most outstanding technical paper at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots symposium along with Mark Stucky and Clint Nichols.[2]

SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise crash

Main article: VSS Enterprise crash

On 31 October 2014, along with Peter Siebold, Alsbury was test flying the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise. The craft broke up in-flight shortly after its release from its mothership, resulting in the loss of VSS Enterprise, which crashed in the California Mojave Desert.[5] While Siebold was injured, he was able to parachute to safety. Alsbury, however, was unable to exit the spacecraft, and his remains were found still strapped to his seat in the fuselage.[2][4] It was the ninth time that Alsbury had flown aboard the aircraft.[6]

On 4 November 2014, Episode 5 of BBC One's Human Universe, presented by Brian Cox, was dedicated to Alsbury, as it had a sequence on Virgin Galactic test pilot David Mackay.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Press Release - 3:00pm, November 1, 2014". Scaled Composites. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Petersen, Melody; Vives, Ruben; Hennigan, W.J. (1 November 2014). "Virgin Galactic craft probably broke up in midair, NTSB chief says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Williamson, Marcus (6 November 2014). "Michael Alsbury: Experienced and respected pilot who died during a test flight for Richard Branson's 'SpaceShipTwo' vessel". The Independent. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Spargo, Chris; Parry, Ryan; Robertson, James; Corcoran, Kieran (1 November 2014). "'I have lost the love of my life'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Prigg, Mark; Spargo, Chris; Warren, Lydia; Corcoran, Kieran (31 October 2014). "Moment Virgin Galactic spaceship exploded at 45,000ft". Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Solomon, Daina Beth; Klotz, Irene (2 November 2014). "Branson determined to find cause of Virgin spaceship crash, pilots identified". Reuters (Science Daily). Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "BBC Two - Human Universe, What is our Future?". BBC. 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.