US spacecraft SpaceShipTwo explodes in the desert, 1 pilot killed

The craft exploded during a test flight over the Mojave Desert, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

AP quoted photographer Ken Brown, a witness to the explosion, on October 31 as saying that the Virgin Galactic spaceship exploded into many pieces after separating from the plane carrying it in mid-air.

The SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, typically piloted by two pilots, is designed to fly into space before returning to Earth and landing like a glider.

SpaceShipTwo wreckage in the Mojave Desert (AP Photo)

US officials said they could not find the cause of the October 31 accident and saw no problems beforehand.

“I don’t see anything unusual,” said Mojave Airport CEO Stuart Witt.

It is known that British billionaire and founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson is a pioneer in sending a group of civilian passengers into space so they can feel weightlessness and see the magnificent landscape of Earth from space.

On his Twitter page, Mr. Branson said he flew to Mojave immediately.

“I think this explosion represents a failure of the idea of ​​putting people in space in the near future,” said John Logsdon, former director of aviation policy at George Washington University.

“Before, many people thought that the technology to put people in space was very safe,” Mr. Logsdon added.

After a development process that took much longer than the hundreds of passengers eager to get out into space had hoped, the explosion came just as they believed they were about to achieve their dream.

Previously, when Microsoft founder Paul Allen transferred technology and provided him with $26 million in funding to develop SpaceShipOne, Mr. Branson said his Virgin Group could conduct flights in 2007.

However, in a September 2014 interview, Mr. Branson said the first flight would be in spring 2015 and he would fly with his son.

The SpaceShipTwo is more than 18m long and has two large windows, one on the side and one on the ceiling of the ship, for up to 6 passengers to participate in the flight.

Virgin Galactic, a subsidiary of the Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi's Aabar investment fund, has set the price for a passenger ticket at $250,000, payable upon booking.

The company said its “future astronauts” (their passengers) had been visiting Mr Branson’s Caribbean home on Necker Island and taking part in a training session to get used to gravity.

Among their passengers were some famous figures such as Stephen Hawking, Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher and Russell Brand.

Additionally, Virgin Galactic announced it has received $80 million in pre-orders from 700 others.

Previously, during the testing of the rocket engine for SpaceShipTwo in July 2007, an explosion at Mojave Airport killed three workers and seriously injured three others./.

According to VOV