Virgin Sir Richard Branson Virgin Galactic

'Go away and sell mobile phones,' rocket propulsion expert tells Richard Branson following crash

Author

By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

November 3, 2014 | 1 min read

Rocket propulsion expert Carolynne Campbell-Knight has told Virgin boss Richard Branson “go away and do something they might be good at like selling mobile phones” following the crash of SpaceShipTwo.

Campbell-Knight,who is a lead rocket propulsion expert for the Netherlands-based International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), has said that she had warned Virgin Galactic before about using nitrous oxide in its propulsion system because it could "go bang in a very unpredictable way".

The crash saw test pilot Mike Alsbury die.

She added that the company “should stay out of the space business” and suggested that they “stop, give up”.

Despite these words, others have praised Branson for how he handled the crisis.

Virgin Sir Richard Branson Virgin Galactic

More from Virgin

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +