Co-Pilot Who Died In Virgin Galactic Rocket Crash Was Experienced Test Pilot
TEHACHAPI(CBS/AP) -- The pilot who was killed in the test flight of Virgin Galactic's prototype space tourism rocket is being remembered as a respected test pilot and devoted husband and father of two young children.
Michael Alsbury, who was 39, was the co-pilot during Friday's ill-fated test flight of SpaceShipTwo high over the Mojave Desert.
His employer, Scaled Composites, which is developing the spaceship, calls Alsbury "a respected and devoted colleague."
Scaled Composites is located in Mojave, 50 miles east of Bakersfield.
Peter Siebold, who piloted the craft and survived, is described by the company as alert and talking with his family and doctors.
Alsbury had at least 15 years of flight experience and logged more than 1,600 hours as a test pilot and test engineer, according to a biography posted on the Society of Flight Test Engineers' website.
At Scaled Composites, Alsbury participated in the flight testing of nine different manned aircraft and co-piloted SpaceShipTwo when it broke the sound barrier during its first powered flight last year.
Alsbury's next-door neighbor in Tehachapi, California, describes him as a devoted father of a young son and daughter.
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