Q&A with George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic

The fatal in-flight breakup of Virgin Galactic’s futuristic SpaceShipTwo rocket plane during a test flight last October was the result of pilot error, possibly triggered by a high workload, unfamiliar vibration and rapid acceleration, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Tuesday.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the surging space company Blue Origin, spoke with reporters at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Spaceflight Now’s Stephen Clark spoke with Rolf de Groot, head of ESA’s robotic exploration coordination office, on Sept. 25, discussing the two-month launch delay of Europe’s ExoMars orbiter and landing demonstrator set to depart for Mars in 2016 and the status of an ambitious rover mission in 2018.