SpaceShipTwo disaster: 'Feathering' problems revealed

It could take a year to figure out what caused the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo to disintegrate in the sky, killing one co-pilot and raising questions about the future of commercial space flight, CNN reports.

But two new clues have emerged about what went wrong before the Friday disaster. And both involve the spacecraft's "feathering," a process used to stabilize and slow the spacecraft down toward Earth.

During feathering, two pieces on the back of the vehicle -- the "feathers" -- lift up perpendicular to the spaceship, making the vehicle look like it's arching its back as it descends.

But on Friday, "the feather lock-unlock lever was moved by the co-pilot from the locked position to the unlocked position" prematurely, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday night.

On top of that, the feathers aren't supposed to move until a separate feathering handle is activated. No one adjusted that handle; yet the feathers were still deployed, NTSB acting Chairman Christopher Hart said.

But Hart stressed that it was unclear whether pilot error, mechanical problems or another possibility caused the spacecraft to break apart in the air.

"We are still a long way from finding a cause," Hart said. "We are months and months away."

Despite a debris field spanning 5 miles, investigators have found almost all the parts of the spacecraft needed for the investigation, Hart said.