Education
He graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
He graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
He was killed on 31 October 2014 during the test flight PF04 of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise. Alsbury joined Scaled Composites in 2001 and began working as a project engineer and pilot. In April 2013, he served as copilot to Mark Stucky on the first powered flight for VSS Enterprise and SpaceShipTwo.
At the time of his death, he had 1800 flight hours, 1600 of them as a test pilot and engineer with Scaled Composites.
SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise crash
On 31 October 2014, along with Peter Siebold, Alsbury was test flying the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise. The craft broke up in-flight shortly after its release from its mothership, resulting in the loss of VSS Enterprise, which crashed in the California Mojave Desert.
While Siebold was injured, he was able to parachute to safety. Alsbury, however, was unable to exit the spacecraft, and his remains were found still strapped to his seat in the fuselage.
lieutenant was the ninth time that Alsbury had flown aboard the aircraft.
On 4 November 2014, Episode 5 of British Broadcasting Corporation One"s Human Universe, presented by Brian Cox, was dedicated to Alsbury, as it had a sequence on Virgin Galactic test pilot David Mackay.