Two Pilots On Board, Witnesses Report Seeing One Parachute

Virgin Galactic says that SpaceShipTwo suffered a serious 'in flight anomaly' during a test flight Friday.

In a statement posted on its website, the company said:

"Virgin Galactic’s 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."

Two pilots fly on board the suborbital spacecraft while flight tests are conducted. CNBC reports that witnesses reported seeing one parachute over the Mojave Desert after the spacecraft apparently exploded in flight. Photographer Ken Brown was covering the test flight, and he told NBC news that he saw the spacecraft explode, and later found debris on the ground. The California Highway Patrol confirms that one of the pilots was fatally injured in the accident. The other was seriously injured. There were no injuries aboard WhitenightTwo.

The powered test flight was the first time the spacecraft's engines had been fired in nine months, according to the report. In that time, Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites have changed to a plastic-based fuel compound in an effort to boost performance.

The flight began at 0919 PDT. It took WhiteKnightTwo about 45 minutes to reach an altitude of 50,000 feet, where it released SpaceShipTwo.

We'll have more details on this story as they develop.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com, www.scaled.com