Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Is Lost During Test Flight – 1 Pilot Dead

By Nathan Kirsch

At least one person is dead and another injured after Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spacecraft crashed somewhere in the Mohave desert in California. The craft was flying a manned test when it experienced what the company described as “a serious anomaly”. The altitude at which the failure happened it unknown, but SpaceShipTwo is released at an altitude of about 45,000 feet and then the rocket is fired and it goes up to 62 miles above the earth.

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It appears that both pilots were employed by Scaled Composites and 2 minutes into a test run something went tragically wrong. This was the first powered test flight since January 2014. The co-pilot was pronounced dead at the scene while the pilot was transported to a local hospital with major injuries and is in an unknown condition. The aircraft that held the spaceship, known as White Knight 2, has landed safely at the Mojave Air and Space Port, Virgin Galactic said. Scaled Composites President Kevin Mickey confirmed that both pilots were employed by his company.

The accident is the second this week for a U.S. space company. On Tuesday, an unmanned Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded 15 seconds after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia, destroying a cargo ship bound for the International Space Station.

Here is the official statement from Virgin Galactic on the crash:

Virgin Galactics partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today. During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. Our first concern is the status of the pilots, which is unknown at this time. 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.

In 2011, development costs for SpaceShipTwo were estimated at $400 million. Virgin Galactic was planning on selling passenger tickets that allowed those with around $250,000 to hitch a ride into space. More than 500 people have already reserved seats. This accident will likely raise questions and cause some of those with tickets to re-think the decision.