Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has crashed in the Mojave Desert after suffering what the company called "an in-flight anomaly" during a test flight conducted by Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic's partner.
Two crew members were onboard. The California Highway Patrol reported 1 dead and 1 injured after the mishap, according to AP, and a spokesman for the Kern County sheriff's office confirmed that the co-pilot was killed.
The spokesman said that said the pilot had ejected from the craft and was found near one of the debris fields. He was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital with moderate to severe injuries.
At a press conference, a shaken Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said, "Our primary thoughts are with the crew and families."
"Space is hard," he added. "Today was a tough day. We're supporting the investigation. We're going to get through it. The future rests on hard days like this."
At the same conference, an emergency response official reported that a helicopter was on standby during the test flight and was able to quickly airlift the injured pilot to the hospital. Officials were unable to comment on the injured pilot's condition.
Executives were unable to provide any additional detail about the cause of the crash, but did confirm that SpaceShipTwo's engines had been tested on the ground.
Thoughts with all @virgingalactic & Scaled, thanks for all your messages of support. I'm flying to Mojave immediately to be with the team.
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) October 31, 2014
Just after 10 a.m. PDT today, ground controllers at the Mojave Spaceport lost contact with SpaceShipTwo, an experimental space flight vehicle. The incident occurred over the Mojave Desert shortly after the space flight vehicle separated from WhiteKnightTwo, the vehicle that carried it aloft. Two crew members were on board SpaceShipTwo at the time of the incident. WhiteKnightTwo remained airborne after the incident. The FAA is investigating.
—KGET News (@KGETnews) October 31, 2014
—ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 31, 2014
—ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 31, 2014
Richard Branson reacts to fatal Virgin Galactic crash http://t.co/b8Grhg3L72 pic.twitter.com/IGRcs4ScqK
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 31, 2014
On Tuesday, an Orbital Sciences Antares rocket bound for the International Space Station on a resupply mission with only cargo onboard exploded while lifting off.
Virgin Galactic is aiming to open suborbital space to tourism — short rides that allow passengers to experience several minutes of weightlessness.
A number of celebrities have reportedly paid the $200,000 ticket price for Virgin Galactic flights, to take rides when the company begins commercial service. They include Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ashton Kutcher, Russell Brand, and Leonardo di Caprio, according the New York Daily News. Physicist Stephen Hawking is slated to receive a free ticket.
Other private space firms, including Orbital Sciences and Elon Musk's SpaceX, are providing NASA with launch services and have the ambition to undertake manned flights in the future. But their goal is to ferry astronauts to the Space Station and, in SpaceX's case, go to Mars.
Scaled Composites was founded in the mid-1980s by aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan. The company developed a spacecraft that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004. Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic formed a new venture, the Spaceship Company, in 2005 to to pursue the private-space market.
Defense and aviation firm Northrup Grumman bought all of Scaled Composites in 2007, expanding an earlier partial stake. Northrup Grumman doesn't have an interest in the Spaceship Company.
Business Insider contacted Northrup Grumman, but the company wasn't able to comment. We also reached out to Scaled Composites, but the company has not yet returned our calls.
