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During a test flight on Friday, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo exploded and crashed in the Mojave Desert, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another. According to NBC News, the plane and its carrier, WhiteKnightTwo, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port around 9:20 AM PT Friday. The explosion occurred after SpaceShipTwo was released from the carrier plane and fired its rocket engine. Photographer Ken Brown reported that he saw an explosion high in the sky and later found debris scattered across the desert.
During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo. WK2 landed safely. (2 of 4)
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 31, 2014
First photo: @virgingalactic‘s #SpaceShipTwo crashes http://t.co/k5JynVMGQ9 pic.twitter.com/NcIr01NXcv — BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) October 31, 2014
Final moments of #SpaceShipTwo. Via @ap @mashable. http://t.co/wuEu9W4sEJ pic.twitter.com/l59UfCqGqL
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) November 1, 2014
Space is hard – but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together http://t.co/kJGG0NQTNf
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) November 1, 2014
Virgin Galactic was planning on using the spaceship as early as next year for commercial reasons. Over 700 people, including some celebrities, have paid up to $250,000 to be a passenger on one of the suborbital trips. A National Transportation Safety Board team and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident. The pilot killed in the crash was identified earlier today as Michael Alsbury (USA Today).