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Virgin Galactic space rocket crash: One pilot dead and one seriously injured after SpaceShipTwo suffers 'flight anomaly' Virgin Galactic space rocket crash: One pilot dead and one seriously injured after SpaceShipTwo suffers 'flight anomaly'
(35 minutes later)
One pilot has died and another has been seriously injured after Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket encountered a problem during a test flight, according to Californian authorities. Richard Branson’s space tourism dreams suffered a shattering blow tonight when one of his pilots was killed in a test flight and another was severely injured.
In a series of tweets, Virgin Galactic said that SpaceShipTwo was flying under rocket power when it “experienced an in-flight anomaly.” Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered test craft SpaceShipTwo slammed into the Mojave Desert in California after a fatal fault caused a catastrophic failure.
Ken Brown, who witness the crash, said he saw the craft explode in flight after ignition before exploding and crashing in the Mojave Desert. The photographer said there is wreckage in the desert north of Mojave Air and Space Port. At least one witness reported the spacecraft exploded in the air soon after the rocket engine was ignited, though Branson’s company said only that there had been an “in-flight anomaly”.
SpaceShipTwo was on a test flight conducted by Virgin Galatic’s partner company Scaled Composits when the spacecraft crashed. It was its first powered flight since January, the Mojave Air and Space Port said.id. SpaceShipTwo was on a test flight conducted by Virgin Galactic’s partner company Scaled Composits when the spacecraft crashed. It was its first powered flight since January, the Mojave Air and Space Port said.
The launch was the spacecraft's first powered test flight since January, the Mojave Air and Space Port told reporters. In a statement issued shortly before the pilots were found by a search, Virgin Galactic said: “During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle.
The firm said that it was working closely with the authorities to determine the cause of the accident and would continue to provide updates, but has not yet confirmed the death reported to agencies by California Highway Patrol. “We will work closely with the relevant authorities to determine the cause of the accident and provide updates as soon as we are able to do so.”
"Our first concern is the status of the pilots, which is unknown at this time," read their last tweet regarding the pilots. Ken Brown, a photographer who witnessed the fatal flight, said the spacecraft was released from the cargo plane that carries it to high altitude, ignited its rocket motor then exploded.
Kern County Fire Department said it is heading to a location in the Mojave Desert, while California Highway Patrol Officer Darlena Dotson said the agency is responding to a report of a crash in the Cantil area of California. Branson’s company has been offering tickets for space flights since 2005 and several hundred people have already paid deposits. The aim of the project is to create vehicles which can carry tourists into space without the need  for travellers to have special expertise or exhaustive training.
Founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic has been the front-runner in the fledgling space-tourism industry. SpaceShipTwo, which is typically flown by two pilots, was being development at Mojave Air and Spaceport in the desert northeast of Los Angeles. In 2012 SpaceCraftTwo became the first commercial vehicle since Concorde to break the speed of sound when it flew at Mach 1.22.
To launch, the rocket is carried aloft by a specially designed jet and then released before igniting its rocket for suborbital thrill ride into space and then a return to Earth as a glider. It was designed to be carried by a cargo aircraft up to 50,000 feet, in the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, before being released to engage its rocket engine and fly the remaining distance into Space.
Virgin Galactic, once it finished developing its rocket ship, was going to launch space tourism flights from the quarter-billion-dollar Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. On its website Virgin Galactic said that safety was a priority and that Scaled Composits had a record “second to none”.
Additional reporting by Reuters and PA It stated that one of the advantages of the design was safety: “If there were any problems during the boost phase, the rocket motor could simply be shut down and the spaceship would return as a glider to the runway.”
Virgin Galactic said its approach to space tourism was “predicated on safety” and stated: “Safety is Virgin Galactic's North Star. It is at the heart of the design of our new vehicles and will be ingrained in the culture of our space line operation.”