2007-07-27
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The Rocky Road to Space
A thought voiced by many observers of the nascent space tourism industry is that its first real test will be how it deals with a fatal accident. That moment may have come.
Now, this seems to have involved technical staff rather than fare-paying members of the public, and it would be by no means the first space related industrial accident (see here and here) . But its impact on a relatively small operation such as Scaled Composites could still be severe, especially if any of the casualties are key personnel. One of the weaknesses of 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' outfits is that they are very vulnerable to the loss of staff - or, indeed, investor confidence. I will be interested to see Branson's reaction to this; expect a declaration of continued support and enthusiasm, followed by a quiet slip in the schedule for Virgin Galactic's first launch.
Now, this seems to have involved technical staff rather than fare-paying members of the public, and it would be by no means the first space related industrial accident (see here and here) . But its impact on a relatively small operation such as Scaled Composites could still be severe, especially if any of the casualties are key personnel. One of the weaknesses of 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' outfits is that they are very vulnerable to the loss of staff - or, indeed, investor confidence. I will be interested to see Branson's reaction to this; expect a declaration of continued support and enthusiasm, followed by a quiet slip in the schedule for Virgin Galactic's first launch.
