Virgin Galactic, a company controlled by British billionaire Richard Branson, has faced new problems, SpaceNews reports .
The publication writes that an unnamed supplier notified the company about a potential manufacturing defect in a component of the flight control system of the Unity suborbital spacecraft. Virgin Galactic added that they are consulting with the contractor, which will determine the feasibility of repairing or replacing the appropriate equipment.
The company noted that the next Unity flight will take place no earlier than mid-October.
In September, the New Yorker, citing the US Civil Aviation Administration, reported that the Unity suborbital spacecraft of Virgin Galactic during the first flight with a full crew, including Branson, deviated from the originally planned course.
In July, British businessman Richard Branson climbed to an altitude of more than 80 kilometers on an orbital Unity aircraft manufactured by his own company Virgin Galactic. Along with the billionaire, the crew included pilots Dave McKay and Michael Masucci, Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett and the company's vice president of government relations Sirisha Bundle.
Ivan Potapov
