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Air safety chief Christopher Hart uses models to show how the "feathering" slowing device activated without a command from the pilots
A safety device on the Virgin Galactic spacecraft that crashed on Friday killing a test pilot had been deployed early, US investigators say.
Air safety chief Christopher Hart said the "feathering" device, designed to slow the craft on re-entry, activated without a command from the pilots.
But he said it was too soon to confirm any possible cause of the crash.
Media reports had focused on the fuel tanks and the engine, but Mr Hart said both were found intact.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson accused a "handful of British newspapers" of publishing "wild accusations" over the crash.
He said initial findings from US investigators had shown reports that suggested problems with the fuel or engine had caused an explosion were "garbage".
"Rumours and innuendo from self-proclaimed experts can be put back in their box," he told the BBC.
Virgin Galactic had aimed to send tourists into space early next year, and has already taken more than 700 flight bookings at $250,000 (£156,000) each.
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The BBC's Richard Scott toured the spacecraft in 2011
Mr Hart, from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told reporters that the feathering device was supposed to be activated at Mach 1.4 (1,065mph; 1,715km/h), but had been deployed at Mach 1 during the test flight.
He said one of the pilots had enabled the device, but the second stage of its deployment had happened "without being commanded".
"Shortly after the feathering occurred, the telemetry data terminated and the video data terminated," he said.
The feathering device lifts and rotates the tail to create drag, slowing the craft on its descent.
He said SpaceShipTwo's fuel tanks and engine were found intact, without any sign of being breached.
NTSB investigators have now found almost all of the parts of the crashed spacecraft as part of an inquiry they say could take many months to complete.
The pilotsMichael Alsbury
- Aged 39
- Married with two children
- 15 years of flying experience
- First flew in SpaceShipTwo in 2010
- Flew craft's first rocket-powered run in April 2013
Peter Siebold
- Aged 43
- Married with two children
- Received pilot's licence when just 16
- Started working for Scaled Composites in 1996
- Had spent 2,000 hours in 35 different fixed-wing aircraft
Will crash set back space tourism?
SpaceShipTwo was flying its first test flight for nine months when it crashed near the town of Bakersfield.
Virgin Galactic said the craft experienced "a serious anomaly" after it separated from launch vehicle WhiteKnightTwo.
The spacecraft was using a new type of rocket fuel never before used in flight, although officials said it had undergone extensive ground testing.
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Virgin Galactic founding astronaut Per Wimmer: "Space is difficult"
The project has been subject to numerous delays, and its commercial launch has been pushed back several times.
The Financial Times reported that the venture is facing financial difficulties - with $400m in funding from Abu Dhabi now dried up and Virgin Group covering the day-to-day expenses.
The co-pilot who died when SpaceShipTwo disintegrated shortly after take-off was 39-year-old Michael Alsbury.
Scaled Composites, the company employing both pilots, said surviving pilot Peter Siebold, 43, was "alert and talking with his family and doctors".
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