• Virgin Galactic Pilot Peter Siebold Survived a Disintegrating Rocket at 50,000 Feet

    When Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo broke apart shortly after breaking the sound barrier last week, it was unimaginable that either pilot would somehow escape the wreckage. Peter Siebold and Michael Alsbury were both still strapped into their seats as the rocket disintegrated around them. Siebold somehow managed to eject from the ship and basically had to run on instincts to get himself back on solid ground. The "Los Angeles Times" breaks down exactly what Siebold was up against and how amazing it is that he survived rather than die, as Alsbury did. First we need to understand that these men could have been as high as an estimated 50,000 feet above Earth when things turned bad. That means that when Siebold began his fall his body was tumbling through temperatures of around 70 degrees below zero and the air is so thin he likely was unable to either inhale or exhale. Siebold also was not wearing a space suit to protect him from the lethal conditions.
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