Virgin Galactic announced Friday that its SpaceShipTwo plane crashed in California, after suffering from a "serious anomaly" in-flight.
One of the plane's pilots was reportedly found dead with his "body still in seat," and the other suffered a "major injury" and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
A witness of the crash stated that the plane "blew up" and "came down in pieces." An ABC News crew also found some of the plane's wreckage.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Friday's test was the SpaceShipTwo's 35th flight. The test flight, its first in more than nine months, was intended to be preparation for future trips farther than 62 miles in altitude. Virgin Galactic changed the SpaceShipTwo's fuel mixture from rubber-based to a plastic-based mix to improve its engine performance, but it's not yet known if this was related to the crash.
"We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident," the company said in a statement. Roughly 800 potential passengers paid $250,000 to ride in the plane. Mojave Air & Space Port, from where the Virgin Galactic plane was flown, has scheduled a press conference for 5:00 p.m. eastern time on Friday.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
10 things you need to know today: October 1, 2023Daily Briefing Government shutdown avoided as Congress passes temporary funding bill, Supreme Court to begin new term as major cases await, and more
-
6 thrilling reads chosen by Ken Follett
Feature The historical novelist suggests works by Frank Herbert, Charles Dickens and more
-
Dress-down democracy
Feature What we lose when we shun suits and ties
-
Russian lunar spacecraft crashes into the moon
Speed Read
-
Hurricane Hilary bringing unprecedented storm warnings to Southwest
Speed Read
-
NASA fully restores contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft
Speed Read
-
The US just banned most incandescent light bulbs, and few people even noticed
Speed Read
-
NASA loses contact with Voyager 2 probe
Speed Read
-
20 dead and 27 missing after lethal downpour in Beijing
Speed Read
-
Biden keeps U.S. Space Command in Colorado, reversing Trump move to Alabama
Speed Read
-
Scientists revive 46,000-year-old worm that was frozen in permafrost
Speed Read
