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(CNN Business) -
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed Wednesday night that it is investigating Richard Branson's flight to the edge of space, and says the rocket-powered plane operated by his company , Virgin Galactic, veered off course during its descent.
The FAA statement came shortly after Nicholas Schmidle of the New Yorker reported that warning lights had been turned on on the dashboard of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo spacecraft - signaling that the vehicle's trajectory was deviated - during the flight in the one where the company's billionaire founder Richard Branson reached the edge of space.
Schmidle also revealed the existence of the FAA investigation.
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Virgin Galactic will not be allowed to conduct another space flight until the FAA's "incident investigation" is completed, as is customary during such investigations, the FAA confirmed Thursday.
The company previously said it was entering a self-imposed month-long no-fly period anyway, as the company works to restore some of its hardware.
However, on Thursday morning, the company indicated that it was targeting late this month or early October for its next flight.
It is unclear whether that program will continue.
"Virgin Galactic cannot return the SpaceShipTwo vehicle to flight until the FAA approves the final investigative report of the incident or determines that the problems related to the incident will not affect public safety," according to a statement from the FAA.
The company's shares fell 4% during business hours on Thursday.
This said billionaire Branson from space 1:05
Virgin Galactic spokesman Barney Gimbel confirmed in an email to CNN Business that the flight path "changed," adding that "when the glide cone message indicated that pilots should modify the flight path to adjust the trajectory , our pilots did exactly as they were trained to do and followed the procedures. "
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In its opening statement Wednesday afternoon, the company defended the safety of the flight, which had been dubbed "Unit 22," saying it questions what it called "the misleading characterizations and conclusions" in Schmidle's article.
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"Unity 22 was a safe and successful flight test that adhered to our flight procedures and training protocols. When the vehicle encountered high altitude winds that changed the trajectory, the pilots and systems monitored the trajectory to make sure it remained. within the parameters of the mission, "said the company.
"Although the final flight trajectory deviated from our initial plan, it was a controlled and intentional flight path that allowed Unity 22 to successfully reach space and land safely at our spaceport in New Mexico. At no time did the passengers and the crew were in danger due to this change in trajectory ”, he added.
The statement added that the pilots of the space plane encountered high-altitude winds and "responded appropriately to these changing flight conditions."
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The space plane carrying Richard Branson takes off from Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on Sunday, July 11.
(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)
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Branson lifts Sirisha Bandla, a member of the crew, on his shoulders as they celebrate their return to Earth.
Bandla is the second Indian-born woman to fly into space.
(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)
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Astronaut Chris Hadfield holds the wings before attaching them to the flight suits of the crew members.
(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)
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Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane separates from its mothership and heads into space.
(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)
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Branson and the other crew members experience weightlessness at the edge of space.
(Credit: Virgin Galactic)
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Spectators watch the space plane separate from its mothership.
(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)
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VSS Unity takes off aboard its mothership, the twin-body transport plane nicknamed VMS Eve.
(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)
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Spectators snap photos and cheer as the Virgin Galactic space plane takes off.
(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)
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Virgin Galactic Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses hugs Branson and other crew members before spaceflight.
(Credit: Virgin Galactic / Reuters)
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Richard Branson greets students as he heads to board the space plane.
(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)
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Richard Branson receives some student cards before the flight.
(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)
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Branson arrives at Spaceport America by bike just after sunrise.
(Credit: Virgin Galactic / Reuters)
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The guests gather before the launch.
(Credit: Joe Skipper / Reuters)
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A photographer readies his camera as the sun rises over Spaceport America.
(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)
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On Saturday, July 10, lightning flashes illuminated Spaceport America.
The live broadcast of the Virgin Galactic launch was delayed 90 minutes from the originally scheduled time due to strong winds the night before.
(Credit: David Lienemann / Getty Images)
But in a separate statement in response to the FAA investigation, it also acknowledged that the flight "deviated from our initial plan" and the spacecraft descended below the altitude at which it was approved to fly for one minute and 41 seconds. .
"At no time did the craft travel over any population center or cause a danger to the public," the company added.
"Representatives from the FAA were present in our control room during the flight and at post-flight reports. We worked together with the FAA to address the airspace for future flights."
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Virgin Galactic did not respond to follow-up questions about the warning lights reported in the spacecraft's cockpit during the Branson flight.
Pilots of the rocket-propelled supersonic SpaceShipTwo spacecraft faced yellow and red warning indicators as the spacecraft veered off course, according to Schmidle's report.
The unpredictable orientation of the vehicle diverted the spacecraft for its descent back to Earth, which could have forced it to make an emergency landing in the New Mexico desert, according to the article.
The new report adds to several explosive firsts Schmidle has had about the company's safety record, which its executives and public relations officials have tried to ignore to maintain credibility with Virgin Galactic's wealthy clientele and potential space travelers. .
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The Branson flight was only the fourth trip into space that Virgin Galactic has successfully completed following a tragic test flight in 2014 that killed one pilot and seriously injured another. And of those four trips, at least two have had serious security problems. A test flight in 2019 - which was the first to include a passenger, Virgin Galactic engineer Beth Moses - narrowly ended very differently due to a serious problem with the space plane's wing, according to Schmidle, who also wrote "Test Gods," a recently published book about Virgin Galactic and the years he spent with internal access to the company.
"This should have been a moment of truth, not the kind of thing you hide under the rug," he told Schmidle last year to Todd Ericson, former vice president of security at Virgin Galactic, who has since resigned from the company.
Neither the FAA nor Virgin Galactic made public the issues associated with the 2019 flight or the Branson flight.
The FAA did not respond to requests for additional comment.
This is how Richard Branson took off on the Virgin Galactic 1:13 spacecraft
Richard Branson Virgin Galactic