Virgin Galactic Reports Flight-Related Issue To FAA

Space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings said on Monday that it had notified the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of a detachment of an alignment pin from its VMS Eve carrier jet.

The issue was found during post-flight reviews and reported to the regulator on Wednesday, Richard Branson’s space venture said.

The company said the detached alignment pin did not pose a safety impact to the vehicles or the crew on board, adding “Galactic 06” was a “safe and successful flight.”

It did not see any damage to the spaceship or the mothership, the space startup said.

Virgin Galactic will provide a further update at the completion of the review, the company said.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)