Blast Investigation Delays Engine Work on SpaceShipTwo

摘要

An ongoing investigation into a fatal explosion at the Mojave spaceport last summer has delayed rocket engine development for the suborbital commercial passenger spacecraft SpaceShipTwo, the vehicle's lead designer has said. Aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan, who is building the suborbital SpaceShipTwo with his Mojave, Calif.-based company Scaled Composites, said the firm first must determine the cause of the July 26 blast that killed three Scaled Composites workers and injured three others before completing the spacecraft's rocket engine.