During a test flight over the Mojave Desert today, Virgin Galactic’s spaceship suffered a “serious anomaly” and crashed.
Two pilots were on board the plane, as is typical during test flights, and media reports claim that one parachute was seen on the ground. The California Highway Patrol is reporting one fatality, according to the AP.
There is a with parts of the plane scattered across the desert.
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-crashes/
Local authorities from the Kern County Fire Department are conducting search and rescue operations and Virgin Galactic issued a statement saying it “will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident” and provide updates soon.
Today was the 55th time SpaceShipTwo had flown, and the 35th time the vehicle flew on its own, detached from the airplane that carries it airborne. It was only the fourth time SpaceShipTwo had actually fired its rocket, but the first time the ship had used a new polyamide-based rocket fuel—effectively a plastic-based fuel rather than the rubber-based fuel that had been used previously.
Joel Glenn Brenner, a journalist speaking on CNN today, said that the SpaceShipTwo rocket engine appeared to have burned for two seconds after ignition and then stopped in what may have been a hard start. The vehicle engine then restarted and exploded.
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-crashes/