Crash of SpaceShipTwo: the Future of Space Tourism is at Threat - Essay Example

Commentary Essay Paper Crash of SpaceShipTwo: the Future of Space Tourism is at Threat All three articles under consideration taken from Al-Jazeera, The New York Times, and The Economist deal with the latest tragedy in the history of space tourism, which is the crash of a passenger spaceship produced by Virgin Galactic that resulted in the death of one person and injuries of one more. From the content of the article, it follows that the common trend of media coverage of the topic is referencing to the history of the sphere with the aim to convince the audience in the future successes / failures. The article published on the 1st of November, 2014 on the website of Al-Jazeera America deal with the UK entrepreneur Richard Branson’s response to the crash of the suborbital vehicle SpaceShipTwo developed by his company to conduct tourist flights into space. The focus of the article is Richard Branson’s intention to find out what exactly went wrong during the test flight of the spaceship and what caused the death of the co-polite and severe injuries of the pilot. In addition to this, the article highlights Branson’s plan to continue testing and improving the spaceship as well as his optimistic attitude towards the future of the project. To render Richard Branson’s stance and attitude towards the discussed issue, the author of the article widely quotes Branson’s speech delivered on the press conference on the crash of the suborbital vehicle SpaceShipTwo. More specifically, with the aim to show the audience the UK entrepreneur’s optimism, the author quotes Branson’s statements in which he draws a parallel between the development of aviation and the possible bright future of the sphere of space tourism. Also, the fact that Branson himself is going to flight travel into space on the first flight is used as reasoning. In addition to this, to prove that Branson is actually determined to define the reasons of the crash, the author of the article mentions the fact of the beginning of the investigation. The possible audience of the article is not only the common readers of the periodical but also those who are actually interested in the development of the sphere of space tourism and possible tourist flights into space, such as potential tourists. It is so because the author of the article seems to try to reassure people that space tourism does have a future, especially if the head of Virgin Galactic does not give up on further attempts to improve the spaceship. In other words, the purpose of the article is to reassure the audience that the crash will not happen again as the specialists are working hard on the issue and are rather optimistic about the future. The author has succeeded in reaching the audience, building the argument and achieving the purpose. The article appears to be reassuring and optimistic about the idea of the future flights into space despite the fact that the two previous test flights were unsuccessful. As the only source of information is the owner of the company that produces the spaceship, the article seems a bit biased for it does not even consider the possibility of future failures. At the same time, the specialists’ thoughts are missing. The article from The New York Times titled Virgin Galactic Is Rattled, but Undeterred, by Deadly Space Plane Crash describes the circumstances of the crash of SpaceShipTwo, investigation of the accident, its possible causes as well as the thoughts of Richard Branson, the owner of the company, which launched the flight, on the issue. In particular, the article presents the details of the launch and crash, the state of health of the casualties, the data the investigators have for the current moment and Branson’s determination to continue the program and even the intention to take part in it. In other words, the author of the article aims to show that the situation is under control of the specialists and will not be left unattended. To make the argument, the author of the article uses various pieces of evidence. First of all, he refers to the chairman of the board of Mojave Air and Space Port Christopher A. Hart, who reports on the circumstances of the crash as well as on the abundance of data the investigators have to define the cause of the crash and the death and injuries of the crew of the suborbital vehicle. Also, the author describes the first results of the investigation provided by the investigation board. Finally, Chang quotes Richard Branson’s conference to show the entrepreneur’s viewpoint. The possible audience of the article under consideration is the common readership; also, it is people concerned with the accident, especially those who have already paid money to travel into space on the first flight and those who have such plans, i.e. tourists and investors. The purpose of the article is thus to reassure in the fact that despite the difficulties on the first stages of the program, the matter will be taken care of, which means the flights are possible in the nearest future. The author of the article shows that there is plenty of evidence on the problem which caused the crash, and this fact helps him build the argument. The detailed description of the process of the investigation as well as the opinion of the competent and reliable expert is also up to the point. That is why the article may be considered balanced. Despite the tone is not as optimistic as of the previous piece, the article does show Virgin Galactic is in a forceful mood. The article from The Economist titled Down to Earth describes the crash of SpaceShipTwo of Virgin Galactic in terms of its implications for the future of the sphere of space tourism. In addition to this, the article mentions the previous unsuccessful launch of a SpaceShipTwo craft which resulted in the death of three people and severe injuries of three more. Also, the author of the article includes the discussions of the implication of the crash for the future of Virgin Galactic itself. Overall, the overriding argument of the article is that the crash of SpaceShipTwo has threatened the future of the sphere of space tourism. To make the argument, the author of the article refers to the history of launches of SpaceShipTwo. More specifically, the two launches of the spaceship, which took place in 2007 and on the previous week, were both unsuccessful for the craft crashed and, more importantly, resulted in the death of four people and injuries of four people in total. In addition to this, the author makes reference to the interview with Richard Branson, which took place the year before the 2014 launch, and the UK entrepreneur’s assurance of the future success of the tourist space travels on SpaceShipTwo. Finally, there is also a mention of the fact that there is a strong possibility that America’s Federal Aviation Administration can prohibit Virgin Galactic from conducting its business in accordance with the 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act. The possible audience of the article under analysis is the common readership of the periodical that is eager to know the latest news in the sphere of technology as well as the potential tourists, investors, and competitors (the last is possible for the article mentions the possible ban for Virgin Galactic to conduct flights in the future). The purpose advanced through the article is to show that the sphere of space tourism is not developed enough to be considered a safe kind of entertainment and that Virgin Galactic is not the company that should be relied on when it comes to people’s lives. The author of the article has succeeded in the building the argument and persuading the reader in the fact that space tourism is not safe enough. The references to the previous interview with Richard Branson, who almost bragged about the safety of the spaceship, and the history of unsuccessful launches are what has helped the author to achieve the purpose. At the same time, the article seems to be biased because it relies a lot on the author’s somewhat negative attitude to Branson and his assurance in particular. In conclusion, the articles under consideration differ in tone of the presentation of information. The author of the first article is quite positive about the successful future of Virgin Galactic; the second article is not as optimistic but still leaves some hope; the last piece almost destroys the idea of possible space tours in the nearest future. In the first article, it is the reference to Richard Branson that helps form a positive attitude towards the issue; the second article is also reassuring owing to the same reference as well as the mentioning of the thoughts of experts; the last piece is rather negative about the future of space tourism due to the reference to the past events in the history of the sphere as well as to the current legislation. Works Cited Al Jazeera. "Branson Vows to Push Forward with Space Quest." Al Jazeera. 1 Nov 2014: n. page. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. . Chang, K. "Virgin Galactic Is Rattled, but Undeterred, by Deadly Space Plane Crash." New York Times. 1 Nov 2014: n. page. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. . "Down to Earth." Economist. 1 Nov 2014: n. page. 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