A memorial was conducted for the pilot who died in the craft’s crash during a test flight. Almost thousand mourners gathered to honor the memory of Alsbury.
WhiteknightTwo, the Mothership of Spaceship Two flew over at the location where the memorial ceremony took place.
Kevin Mickey, the head of Scaled Composites paid a tribute to Alsbury. He called Alsbury the hero of the American Space Exploration.
Moreover, Mickey compared the sacrifice of the Alsbury with the NASA’s Columbia Space Shuttle. NASA’s Columbia space Shuttle disaster occurred on February 1, 2003. The Space Shuttle broke up at its return to Earth and killed seven crew members on board.
George Whiteside, CEO of Virgin Galactic also spoke at the ceremony. He promised the mourners that Alsbury’s memory will certainly live longer as compared to the rest of the development team.
On the other hand, founder Sir Richard Branson called Alsbury a precious friend that the world lost. Moreover, he declared that Branson next Space Ship would be named as “hope”. The name is selected to honor the contribution of Alsbury.
Spaceship Two, Virgin Galactic space tourism rocket blown up at its test flight. Peter Siebold and Alsbury were the two crew members present inside the rocket. Unfortunately, Alsbury died in that explosion, whereas Siebold suffered some serious injuries such as broken ribs and shoulder.