Virgin Galactic’s latest plane/rocket, dubbed “SpaceShipTwo”, reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff this afternoon above the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Director Stu Witt told Bakersfield, California’s KGET that the plane crashed east of Mojave. Two pilots helmed SpaceShipTwo, and their condition is still unknown; KGET reports that one fatality was mentioned in police and fire rescue scanner calls, while one parachute was reportedly spotted post-crash.
Virgin Galactic initially reported an “anomaly” with the ship, and is now reporting the ship as a “loss.” The company’s Twitter account says the status of the two pilots is “unknown at this time.” It’s not clear what caused said “anomaly,” nor is it clear how the ship crashed. SpaceShipTwo is the space-faring component of Virgin Galactic’s plane/rocket combination; the plane component is known as “WhiteKnightTwo,” and it apparently landed without incident.
Developing …
Comments
Source: Twitter, NBC, KGET