Virgin Galactic Cleared to Launch after US Closes Safety Probe

Richard Branson speaks after he flew into space aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the "experience of a lifetime" Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File
Richard Branson speaks after he flew into space aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the "experience of a lifetime" Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File
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Virgin Galactic Cleared to Launch after US Closes Safety Probe

Richard Branson speaks after he flew into space aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the "experience of a lifetime" Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File
Richard Branson speaks after he flew into space aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the "experience of a lifetime" Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File

Virgin Galactic said Wednesday it had been cleared for spaceflight after the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) concluded a probe into a safety "mishap" related to its high-profile mission in July that featured company founder Richard Branson.

The FAA told the company it had accepted its proposed corrective actions related to the flight, which saw the SpaceShipTwo vehicle drop below its assigned airspace during its descent back to its runway at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic will update its calculations for future flights and request more airspace, and promised real-time communication with the FAA during flight operations, the company said.

"Our entire approach to spaceflight is guided by a fundamental commitment to safety at every level, including our spaceflight system and our test flight program," said CEO Michael Colglazier in a statement.

"We appreciate the FAA's thorough review of this inquiry. Our test flight program is specifically designed to continually improve our processes and procedures."

The FAA grounded Virgin Galactic earlier this month after an investigative report in The New Yorker said the flight experienced irregularities that could have jeopardized the mission.

The article said the pilots encountered cockpit warnings indicating the rocket-powered spaceplane's climb was too shallow and the nose was insufficiently vertical.

This could have meant that, after taking its crew to the edge of space, it would have lacked sufficient energy to glide back to its runway on Earth.

In the end, the vessel did land on the runway, but its altitude fell lower than it should have.

An FAA statement confirmed it had closed its "mishap investigation."

"The FAA also found Virgin Galactic failed to communicate the deviation to the FAA as required," the statement said -- a line that suggests the agency only learned of the irregularity through the article in The New Yorker.

Virgin Galactic is planning its next test flight, with members of the Italian air force, around mid-October.



Bull Sharks Linger in Warming Sydney Waters

A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
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Bull Sharks Linger in Warming Sydney Waters

A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)

Bull sharks are lingering off Sydney's beaches for longer periods each year as oceans warm, researchers said Friday, predicting they may one day stay all year.

The predators are migratory, swimming north in winter when Sydney's long-term ocean temperatures dip below 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) to bask in the balmier waters off Queensland.

A team of scientists looked at 15 years of acoustic tracking of 92 tagged migratory sharks in an area including Bondi Beach and Sydney Harbour.

Records show the sharks now spend an average of 15 days longer off Sydney's coast in summer than they did in 2009, said James Cook University researcher Nicolas Lubitz.

"If they're staying longer, it means that people and prey animals have a longer window of overlap with them."

Shark attacks are rare in ocean-loving Australia, and most serious bites are from three species: bull sharks, great whites, and tiger sharks, according to a national database.

There have been more than 1,200 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which over 250 resulted in death.

Researchers found an average warming of 0.57C in Bondi for the October-May period between 2006 and 2024, said the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of The Total Environment.

Over a longer period, remotely sensed summer sea-surface temperatures in the area rose an average 0.67C between 1982 and 2024, they said.

"If this trend persists, which it likely will, it just means that these animals are going to spend more and more time towards their seasonal distributional limit, which currently is southern and central New South Wales," Lubitz said.

"So it could be that a few decades from now, maybe bull sharks are present year-round in waters off Sydney," he added.

"While the chances of a shark bite, and shark bites in Australia in general, remain low, it just means that people have to be more aware of an increased window of bull shark presence in coastal waters off Sydney."

Climate change could also change breeding patterns, Lubitz said, with early evidence indicating juvenile sharks were appearing in rivers further south.

There was some evidence as well that summer habitats for great whites, which prefer colder waters, were decreasing in northern New South Wales and Queensland, he said.

Tagged sharks trigger an alarm when they swim within range of a network of receivers dotted around parts of the Australian coast, giving people real-time warnings on a mobile app of their presence at key locations.