Virgin Galactic Spaceship Destroyed During Test Flight

This image from video by KABC TV Los Angeles shows wreckage of what is believed to be SpaceShipTwo in Southern California's Mojave Desert on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014.

Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo was destroyed during a powered test flight today in Mojave, CA. According to a statement issued by the company, During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft landed safely.

According to the Associated Press, a witness to the incident said that the spacecraft exploded in-flight. However, during a press conference this afternoon, Mojave Spaceport CEO Stuart Witt claimed that he didnt witness any explosion.

There were two pilots on board the craft. Local law enforcement agencies have confirmed that one of the pilots was killed during the accident and the other was injured and evacuated to a nearby hospital.

Virgin Galactics spacecraft are being built and tested by Scaled Composites, the company that built the first private spacecraft to travel into space ten years ago this month. Both test pilots were employees of Scaled Composites.

During the press conference, Scaled Composites President Kevin Mickey stated that he expected the investigation into the causes of the crash to take several days.

In this image from video by KABC-TV Los Angeles, a rescue crew carries a person on a stretcher to a waiting helicopter near the scene of a crash of the SpaceShipTwo in Southern Californias Mojave Desert on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014. (AP Photo/KABC-TV)

This was the fourth powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo. The rocket engine in the first three successful flights had been developed in conjunction with Sierra Nevada Corporation.

However, in a statement issued by Sierra Nevada today, the company stated that its technical and program involvement ended in May of 2014 with Virgin Galactics announcement to use its own internally developed technology for the SS2 rocket motor. SNC had no involvement in the build or qualification testing of the motor used in this flight, nor in the integration of this motor to SS2. SNC was not engaged in any manner in the pre-flight safety or technical approvals or in the flight operations of the mission conducted today.

During the press conference, Mickey insisted that the motor was the essentially the same except for a new mix of fuel.

Go here to see the original:
Virgin Galactic Spaceship Destroyed During Test Flight