FAA clears Virgin Galactic to resume space flights

Aviation giant Virgin Galatic announced on Wednesday that it received clearance from the United States Federal Aviation Administration to continue its spaceflight launches. 

The company’s spaceflight in July had been under investigation after it went off its planned course while coming back to Earth. The space vessel carried Richard Branson, the company’s founder.

The company said it has accepted the corrective actions suggested by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to reports from Associated Press.

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Virgin Galactic further announced that it be allocating a larger area, which will be termed as protected airspace, to make sure there is a possibility to have “a variety of possible flight trajectories during spaceflight missions.”

The company will also take additional steps to boost the real time notifications to the air traffic control of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States.

While thanking the Federal Aviation Administration for the investigation, Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said the company is committed to the people’s safety.

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He said, “The updates to our airspace and real-time mission notification protocols will strengthen our preparations as we move closer to the commercial launch of our spaceflight experience”, according to reports from the Associated Press.

During the July 11 incident, the rocketship carrying Branson and five Virgin Galactic employees deviated outside the air traffic control clearance area during descent to a runway in New Mexico. As a result, the Federal Aviation Association imposed a halt on flights pending the investigation.

Virgin Galactic has said high-altitude wind caused the change in the flight path and insisted the two pilots responded appropriately. The company said the ship did not travel over population centers or cause a hazard to the public, according to reports from Associated Press.