By — Ruth Tam Ruth Tam Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/virgins-commercial-spaceship-crashed-test-flight Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Virgin’s commercial spaceship crashes during test flight Nation Oct 31, 2014 4:30 PM EDT Photo of #SpaceShipTwo debris from @ABC23News’ helicopter. Live stream here: http://t.co/JOhYYG4CUa pic.twitter.com/cKkskNUImM — Cory Bergman (@corybe) October 31, 2014 A test flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo ended when an in-flight failure occurred on Friday and the aircraft exploded mid-air, NBC affiliate KGET reports. The California Highway patrol reported one fatality and one major injury from the accident. BREAKING: California Highway Patrol reports 1 fatality, 1 major injury after SpaceShipTwo accident. — The Associated Press (@AP) October 31, 2014 SpaceShipTwo was one of two commercial spaceships conducting test flights today. The incident was described by Virgin Galactic as an “in-flight anomaly.” 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. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft 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 as soon as we are able to do so. According to NBC News, over 700 Virgin customers have spent as much as $250,000 for a ride on a rocket plane. This story will be updated when more information is available. By — Ruth Tam Ruth Tam Online Editorial Production Assistant at the PBS NewsHour. @ruthetam
Photo of #SpaceShipTwo debris from @ABC23News’ helicopter. Live stream here: http://t.co/JOhYYG4CUa pic.twitter.com/cKkskNUImM — Cory Bergman (@corybe) October 31, 2014 A test flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo ended when an in-flight failure occurred on Friday and the aircraft exploded mid-air, NBC affiliate KGET reports. The California Highway patrol reported one fatality and one major injury from the accident. BREAKING: California Highway Patrol reports 1 fatality, 1 major injury after SpaceShipTwo accident. — The Associated Press (@AP) October 31, 2014 SpaceShipTwo was one of two commercial spaceships conducting test flights today. The incident was described by Virgin Galactic as an “in-flight anomaly.” 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. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft 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 as soon as we are able to do so. According to NBC News, over 700 Virgin customers have spent as much as $250,000 for a ride on a rocket plane. This story will be updated when more information is available.