Last Friday (October 31st), Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo suffered a suborbital spaceliner accident and crashed in the desert of Mojave, California. One test pilot, Michael Alsbury, was killed, while another, Peter Siebold, was injured in the crash. Space.com reported that acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Christopher Hart, stated an early review of telemetry and video from inside SpaceShipTwo during its tragic test flight revealed that the craft’s unique “feathering” tail system deployed prematurely.
Upon learning about the accident, Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic founder, also said, “We have always known that commercial space travel is an incredibly hard project. We have been undertaking a comprehensive testing program for many years and safety has always been our number one priority. This is the biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history, precisely to ensure this never happens to the public.”
Now, Alsbury’s co-workers at Scaled Composites have launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise $100,000 for his memorial fund. The campaign reads, “Michael (Mike) Alsbury, Test Pilot and Project Engineer for Scaled Composites, passed away on October 31, 2014 due to an anomaly during flight test. Mike was a husband, a father of two small children (ages 10 and 7), amazing friend and co-worker.
“Mike had worked with Scaled for over 15 years. This is a tragic loss that will leave a void in Mike’s family, the Scaled family, and the surrounding community for years to come. We would like to do anything we can to support Michelle and his two children.”
Explaining the key reason for turning to the crowdfunding platform, the organizers noted, “Gofundme has an option to cut a check for the lump-sum of the donations. This check will be given to Michelle, Mike’s wife once we close the campaign. ”
Within only two days, the campaign has already reached $98,108 thanks to 639 backers. Excited about the project’s support, the organizers stated, “We are overwhelmed by the support that we have received in just one day, not only by the contributions made, but by the comments you have left!”
Due to the campaign’s incredible support, the organizers announced, “Because we have received so much support and reached our initial goal in one day, we are going to keep this page open until further notice. Due to the ongoing NTSB investigation, we have been instructed not to respond to any media requests at this time. Last but not least, this money is going to the family. We have Mike’s best interest at heart. If you need to contact anyone, please feel free to send an email to the contact listed on this page.”