Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo exploded at 45,000ft: One pilot dead and another critical as Richard Branson's $500m space tourism plane blows up testing new fuel over California desert
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This is the moment Virgin Galatic's spacecraft exploded miles above the desert, killing one of its pilots, in its first test flight loaded with an experimental new rocket fuel.
The SpaceShipTwo plane, designed to run the first ever passenger flights into space, split into pieces and fell to earth seconds after being launched mid-air from a carrier plane over California's Mojave Desert.
Wreckage rained from the sky as one pilot managed to eject from the cockpit using a parachute, while the other was reportedly left strapped to his seat as he plummeted to earth and died.
The pilot who ejected also suffered serious injuries and is now in hospital. Virgin has not yet said who the pilots were - though only four men were cleared by the FAA to pilot the craft.
Today's flight was the first time SpaceShipTwo had taken to the skies using a new, solid plastic fuel instead of the rubber-based propellant which powered earlier flights. Virgin founder Richard Branson is flying urgently to the scene of the accident.
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Fatal moment: The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo plane is pictured above coming to pieces after a mid-air launch uses an experimental rocket fuel. It crashed to the ground in a remote region of California's Mojave Desert, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another
Fatal launch: SpaceShipTwo, left, is seen above moments after it detatched from WhiteKnightTwo, the twin-hulled airplane which carries the main vessel to 45,00ft before dropping it to make the sub-orbital space flight by itself
Pulling away: The rocket engine, using a new plastic-based polyamide fuel, can be seen starting to fire, right, as SpaceShipTwo streaks away from the carrier
Explosion: Fragments of the plane plummeted to earth after it started to break apart, white smoke pouring, in the fatal accident
Parts of the crashed spacecraft in the Mojave desert. SpaceShipTwo was flying under rocket power after being released from its mothership - then Virgin tweeted that it had 'experienced an in-flight anomaly.'
Two pilots were onboard, and authorities confirmed one was dead, with the second being taken to hospital in Lancaster with serious injuries aboard a helicopter (pictured)
Two pilots were onboard, and authorities confirmed one was dead, with the second being taken to hospital in Lancaster with serious injuries aboard a helicopter (pictured)
Victims? Four men are registered as SpaceShipTwo pilots with the FAA - Frederick 'CJ' Sturckow (far left), Michael Masucci, Peter Siebold (center right, arms folded) and Todd 'Leif' Ericson (not pictured). It is not known which of them were flying today
Onlookers saw at least one parachute from the craft, which has two crew members. One bystander who raced to the wreckage with a friend after the crash reported seeing the dead pilot strapped into his seat, missing several body parts.
An an interview uploaded to Youtube, he told Space.com: '...We drove out and found one of the debris areas, there was debris all - it had hit the edge of the road. there were pieces of the fuselage and pieces of debris on the road, and also in the brush all around.
'There was a seat with a body in it - I don't know who it was.
'I didn't get a look of it or come close to it for obvious reasons. There was a shoe, a boot with a foot in it on the road and parts of body.'
In the wake of the disaster, Virgin Galactic issued a statement saying: '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 SpaceShipTwo. WK2 [which carries SpaceShipTwo into the air] landed safely.
'Our first concern is the status of the pilots, which is unknown at this time. We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident and provide updates ASAP.'
The company earlier tweeted that SpaceShipTwo was flying under rocket power and then tweeted that it had 'experienced an in-flight anomaly.'
Richard Branson said: 'Thoughts with all at Virgin Galactic & Scaled, thanks for all your messages of support. I'm flying to Mojave immediately to be with the team.'
Decline and fall: How the plane climbed tens of thousands of feet before exploding and plummeting to earth
Parachutes were spotted in the area, and ABC captured this image of them on the ground
Twitter users have begun posting pictures of the debris to Twitter
Virgin Galactic's Spaceship 2 in flight. The rocket exploded today, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another
'Space is hard and today was a tough day': Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides discussed the difficulties of space flight in a press conference after the crash
In a recent interview with Guardian Weekend Magazine, Branson said, 'Everybody who signs up knows this is the birth of a new space program and understands the risks that go with that.'
'The biggest worry I had was re-entry. NASA has lost about 3 per cent of everyone who's gone into space, and re-entry has been their biggest problem.'
'For a government-owned company, you can just about get away with losing 3 per cent of your clients. For a private company you can't really lose anybody.'
In a press conference held on Friday afternoon, George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said; 'Our primary thoughts at the moment are with the crew and families and we are doing everything we can for them now.'
He then added, Space is hard, and today was a tough day. The future rest on hard days like this.'
They said the plan took off at 9:20am this morning, and that SpaceShip2 was released from WhiteKnightTwo at 10:10am.
Just two minutes later, they realized there was an 'in-flight anomaly' at 10:12am.
Despite what happened however, Stuart Witt, Chief Executive of the Mojave Air and Space Port, encouraged people to not lose faith.
He said: 'Stay the course. This is not easy. If it was easy it would not be interesting to me and my colleagues standing next to me.'
'We are doing this for you and your generation. It is a cause far greater than any one of us singularly. I compare it to the Magellan expedition.'
PLAYING WITH FIRE: SWITCH TO EXPERIMENTAL NEW FUEL TO SEND EXPLODED SPACE PLANE EVEN HIGHER
The fatal Virgin Galactic voyage today was the first time one of their space planes had been tested with a new, high-performing fuel.
SpaceShipTwo took off from the space port in the Mojave desert, California, tanked up with polyamide grain fuel - a type of solid plastic - rather than a rubber-based fuel which had powered all previous tests.
Earlier, successful flights, had used hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, or HTPB, as the main ingredient in the chemical mix for its sub-orbital journeys.
But Virgin Galactic announced in May that it was making the switch, with the hope that it could propel the plane to even greater heights.
Speaking to NBC News at the time, Virgin Galactic CEO said: 'We made the decision to go with a polyamide, which is a fancy way of saying a type of plastic.
'Frankly, we had good performance from both of them, but as we look for the final range of test flights, we decided to go with the polyamide grain.'
Implying the switch would be straightforward, he said: 'It basically is the same cartridge. You just plug it in, and you connect the plumbing in a slightly different way.'
He added that it had tested better in several performance measures.
Burner: Pictured above is a Newton engine, also under development by Virgin Galactic. It doesn't use the polyamide fuel
The Virgin logo is seen clearly in this image of the wreckage
Cars and emergency vehicles line up near the crash site
Pet project: Richard Branson and SpaceShipTwo designer Burt Rutan are pictured above posing with a model of the spaceplane and its launching craft
The FAA is investigating and released a statement saying, '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.'
Photographer Ken Brown, who was covering the test flight, told NBC News that he saw a midflight explosion and later came upon SpaceShipTwo debris scattered across a small area of the desert.
Two pilots fly in SpaceShipTwo's cockpit during a test.
Those pilots are equipped with parachutes, and after the anomaly, at least one chute was reportedly sighted over the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, the base from which SpaceShipTwo and its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane took off.
Bakersfield's KGET-TV quoted the Mojave airport's director as saying that the craft crashed east of Mojave.
A tweet from Virgin Galactic said more information would be forthcoming.
Kern County Fire Department reports it is heading to a location in the Mojave Desert.
California Highway Patrol Officer Darlena Dotson says the agency is responding to a report of a crash in the Cantil area.
SpaceShipTwo made its last powered test flight on Jan. 10.
A closer look at the wreckage from the explosion
Staff stands guard outside the facility
SpaceShipTwo has four FAA approved pilots; Frederick 'CJ' Sturckow, Michael Masucci, Todd 'Leif' Ericson and Peter Siebold.
Then there is David MacKay, Virgin Galactic's British chief pilot.
Sturckow, 53, is a former NASA pilot and was snapped up by Virgin Galactic in May 2013 after an illustrious career including 1,200 hours in space and lengthy military service.
He lives in Lakeside, California with his wife, earned his aviator wings in 1987 and was deployed overseas with the military to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Bahrain. He flew 41 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm and led 30 plane airstrikes into Iraq and Kuwait. During his service, he logged more than 6,500 fight hours in more than 60 different aircraft.
According to his NASA profile, he was selected by the space agency in December 1994 and subsequently worked in roles including the Lead for Kennedy Space Center and Chief of the Astronaut Office International Space Station Branch. He went on to log 1,200 hours in space, including during the first International Space Station assembly mission in 1998 and aboard three other missions to the International Space Station between 2001 and 2009.
In 2011, he was named as the backup commander for the penultimate mission of the Space Shuttle program, allowing Commander Mark Kelly to support his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, as she recovered from an attempted assassination in Tuscon.
CJ Sturckow gets splashed with water after guiding Virgin Galactic's private SpaceShipTwo through an unpowered 'glide flight'
Pilot Michael Masucci celebrates as well with a little water
Along with Sturckow, 51-year-old Michael Masucci - known as 'Sooch' - works out of Virgin Galactic's Mojave, California location to conduct flight training and testing. He joined the team in 2013.
Masucci, a retired U.S. Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant Colonel has more than 30 years of civilian and military operational and test flying experience and has logged more than 9,000 flying hours in 70 different types of airplanes and gliders.
Before joining Virgin Galactic, he served as a U-2 combat pilot in several operations and instructed at the USAF Test Pilot School, while also serving as a Branch Chief. As a U-2 test pilot he was instrumental in the development and testing of the aircraft's glass cockpit and power upgrade programs, according to AeroNews. The married dad also worked for XOJET Inc., a private company based in Brisbane, California where he captained a Citation X, a business jet aircraft.
FAA Inspector John Penney, pilot Todd 'Leif' Ericson and Masucci
SpaceShip2 coming in for a safe landing during a previous run
Branson christening the WhiteKnightTwo, which landed safely today
Siebold flew his first solo flight and gained his pilot's license at 16 - the youngest age possible - and went on to teach flight classes at the San Luis Obispo Airport while he was a student at Cal Poly. He completed his degree in 2001.
The 43-year-old, who lives in Tehachapi, California with his wife, was one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, a experimental spaceplane that completed the first manned private spaceflight in 2004. As a design engineer at its aerospace company Scaled Composites, Siebold was responsible for the simulator, navigation system, and ground control system for the SpaceShipOne project.
In 2009, he was awarded the Iven C. Kincheloe award - the most prestigious award a test pilot can receive - for his role as chief test pilot on the Model 348 WhiteKnightTwo plane, used to lift the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft to release altitude.
By the time of his award, he had logged about 2,500 hours of flight time in 40 different types of fixed wing aircraft, MustangNews reported.
On October 7, Virgin Galactic tweeted: 'Pilots Pete Siebold (Scaled) and CJ Sturckow (Virgin Galactic) have landed #SpaceShipTwo safely after another great test flight.'
HOW VIRGIN GALACTIC WILL TAKE PASSENGERS TO SPACE
SpaceShipTwo has been under development at Mojave Air and Spaceport in the desert northeast of Los Angeles.
SpaceShipTwo is carried aloft by a specially designed mothership and then released before igniting its rocket for suborbital thrill ride into space and then a return to Earth as a glider.
Ticket cost: The starting price for flights is $250,000 (£150,000) - the first ceremonial flight will be undertaken by Richard Branson and his family.
Training: Passengers are required to go through a 'Pre-Flight Experience Programme', including three days of pre-flight preparing onsite at the spaceport to ensure passengers are physically and mentally fit to fly.
Once aboard: SpaceShipTwo will carry six passengers and two pilots. Each passenger gets the same seating position with two large windows - one to the side and one overhead.
A climb to 50,000ft before the rocket engine ignites. Passengers become 'astronauts' when they reach the Karman line, the boundary of Earth's atmosphere, at which point SpaceShipTwo separates from its carrier aircraft, White Knight II. The spaceship will make a sub-orbital journey with approximately six minutes of weightlessness, with the entire flight lasting approximately 3.5 hours.The spaceship accelerates to approximately 3,000 mph - or nearly four times the speed of sound
The space ship is 60ft long with a 90inch diameter cabin allowing maximum room for the astronauts to float in zero gravity.
Flight path: A climb to 50,000ft before the rocket engine ignites. Passengers become 'astronauts' when they reach the Karman line, the boundary of Earth's atmosphere, at which point SpaceShipTwo separates from its carrier aircraft, White Knight II.
The spaceship will make a sub-orbital journey with approximately six minutes of weightlessness, with the entire flight lasting approximately 3.5 hours.
The spaceship accelerates to approximately 3,000 mph - or nearly four times the speed of sound
Flight frequency: Initially one per week, eventually to have two flights per day.
SpaceShipTwo was flying under rocket power after being released from its mothership - then Virgin tweeted that it had 'experienced an in-flight anomaly.'
Ericson is the most recent addition to the team. He joined in July and passed his FAA check ride in August - meaning he was cleared to be pilot-in-command of WhiteKnightTwo, according to Virgin Galactic's Facebook page.
Before joining Virgin, he was an Operations and Maintenance Group Commander for the United States Air Force. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1991 and went on to clock up 23 years of military experience. He has logged more than 8,500 flight hours in over 90 diverse aircraft types.
In his role with the Air Force, he was in charge of safety for around 600 staff working in flight operations and maintenance. He also previously served as the Chief of Safety for the Air Force Test Center.
The photo from the first captive carry of SpaceShipTwo in 2010
The ship attached to its mothership
In May, the company announced it was switching the fuel used in the vehicle's hybrid rocket motor, hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, a form of rubber, to a polyamide-based plastic.
During a media tour of Virgin Galactic's Mojave facilities on October 4 that marked the tenth anniversary of the final flight of SpaceShipOne, the suborbital vehicle that won the $10-million Ansari X Prize, company officials said they expected to resume powered test flights 'imminently' once qualification tests of the new motor were done.
At the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on October 15, Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides said the company had completed those qualification tests.
'We expect to get back into powered test flight quite soon,' he said.
SpaceShipTwo has been under development at Mojave Air and Spaceport in the desert northeast of Los Angeles.
SpaceShipTwo is carried aloft by a specially designed jet and then released before igniting its rocket for suborbital thrill ride into space and then a return to Earth as a glider.
Seats on the flights into space are already being snapped for £250,000 ahead of the spring launch at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Branson's big project has also attracted a slew of big name passengers happy to pay for this once in a lifetime experience, including newlyweds Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; Justin Bieber and his manager Scooter Braun; Lady Gaga, who plans to try and sing in space; former pop star Lance Bass, who has long been vocal about his desire to head to space; Ashton Kutcher, who was the 500th customer to purchase a ticket; Tom Hanks; Bryan Singer; and Princess Beatrice, who would be the first royal in space and who dates Dave Clark, an executive at Virgin Galactic.
Russell Brand also got a ticket for his birthday from ex-wife Katy Perry when the two were married. Perry bought a ticket as well so Brand would not have to go alone.
Stephen Hawking and Kate Winslet are also set to fly, but got their seats for free. Winslet because she is married to Branson's nephew, Ned RocknRoll, and Hawking because Branson wanted to offer the legendary astrophysicist a chance to go into space.
However, Sir Richard is facing a 'backlash' from some of the nearly 700 passengers who have already paid for a ticket on the craft.
Some stumped up the fee as long ago as 2005, but still have no idea when they will eventually reach space.
The 600-plus takers for the flights are already benefiting from their ticket purchase, which by extension enters them into an exclusive club that has seen them visit Necker Island and the Mojave Desert with Branson along with undertaking G-force training.
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