Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo crashed on Friday, Oct. 31, at the Mojave Desert during a manned test flight, causing the death of one pilot and leaving another injured. The aircraft from which SpaceShipTwo was launched, the WhiteKnightTwo, is reported to have landed safely.
In a statement posted on the company's website, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson said, "I am writing this as we refuel on one of the most difficult trips I have ever had to make. I will be in Mojave soon to join the Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composite teams involved in the SpaceShipTwo flight test program. Mojave is also where I want to be – with the dedicated and hard-working people who are now in shock at this devastating loss."
Scaled Composite, a Northrop Grumman company, is the aerospace company that designed SpaceShipTwo.
The spacecraft's design, according to the National Geographic, requires the vehicle to be carried by plane to an altitude of 45,000 feet. It is then released, after which a rocket engine propels it to space. It returns to the ground as a glider.
The accident was reportedly caused when the "vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo." According to reports, the craft exploded after it was released from the plane shortly after 1 p.m. ET. Investigations are currently being conducted.
The Virgin Group's space program has been in development for several years now — the test launches for WhiteKnightTwo was announced in 2008 while the SpaceShipTwo was unveiled in 2009. SpaceShipTwo, according to Virgin, has already flown 54 times prior to the event, this being its 35th time to fly freely, while the WhiteKnightTwo has already flown 173 times. The program aims to take space tourists on a suborbital space flight, a plan that has reportedly drawn in more than 500 bookings at $250,000 per seat.
Meanwhile, another unfortunate but unrelated incident involving a spacecraft happened in Virginia on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Antares, an unmanned supply rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded shortly after launch.
