This one relates to Branson's space ship crashing. Clearly BBC science correspondent, Johnathan Amos had been asked for a bit of copy by the website manager. He duly sent them an email explaining the concept of featuring, but also putting his own opinion into the final paragraph. As they built the page they entered the edited version half way up the page, and the unedited version at the bottom (I don't expect the error to last long so copied it rather than provide a link)
article as it appeared -
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson accused a "handful of British newspapers" of publishing "wild accusations" over the crash.
He said initial findings from US investigators had shown reports that suggested problems with the fuel or engine had caused an explosion were "garbage".
"Rumours and innuendo from self-proclaimed experts can be put back in their box," he told the BBC.
Virgin Galactic had aimed to send tourists into space early next year, and has already taken more than 700 flight bookings at $250,000 (£156,000) each.
Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent
Feathering is supposed to be one of the vehicle's key safety features.
In normal flight, it is deployed when the ship has reached its highest altitude, after the spaceship has broken through the atmosphere.
The twin tailbooms on the craft are rotated 90 degrees, from the horizontal to the vertical.
The effect is to make the returning spaceship behave much like a shuttlecock.
As the air gets thicker on the descent and rushes over the booms, the drag on the vehicle means it naturally adopts a belly-down position ready for the glide back home - just as the feathers always ensure forward-facing flight for the conical projectile used in a game of badminton.
Feathering gets around the need for a complicated system of small thrusters that would otherwise be required to put the rocket plane into the correct re-entry attitude.
It goes without saying that feathering a vehicle while under rocket power and moving in excess of the speed of sound is a recipe for disaster. The aerodynamics are utterly changed along with the forces acting on the structure of the craft.
article as it appeared -
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson accused a "handful of British newspapers" of publishing "wild accusations" over the crash.
He said initial findings from US investigators had shown reports that suggested problems with the fuel or engine had caused an explosion were "garbage".
"Rumours and innuendo from self-proclaimed experts can be put back in their box," he told the BBC.
Virgin Galactic had aimed to send tourists into space early next year, and has already taken more than 700 flight bookings at $250,000 (£156,000) each.
Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent
Feathering is supposed to be one of the vehicle's key safety features.
In normal flight, it is deployed when the ship has reached its highest altitude, after the spaceship has broken through the atmosphere.
The twin tailbooms on the craft are rotated 90 degrees, from the horizontal to the vertical.
The effect is to make the returning spaceship behave much like a shuttlecock.
As the air gets thicker on the descent and rushes over the booms, the drag on the vehicle means it naturally adopts a belly-down position ready for the glide back home - just as the feathers always ensure forward-facing flight for the conical projectile used in a game of badminton.
Feathering gets around the need for a complicated system of small thrusters that would otherwise be required to put the rocket plane into the correct re-entry attitude.
It goes without saying that feathering a vehicle while under rocket power and moving in excess of the speed of sound is a recipe for disaster. The aerodynamics are utterly changed along with the forces acting on the structure of the craft.
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