FAA: Virgin Galactic grounded due to flight mishap; former SpaceShipTwo pilot fired

The company’s SpaceShipTwo vehicle cannot fly until the Federal Aviation Administration completes an investigation into a flightpath-related “mishap” that occurred on July 11, the transportation regulator said Thursday. The vehicle takes off horizontally with help from a larger aircraft, separates and fires rocket engines to reach just below the edge of space, then glides back to its landing site in New Mexico.