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SpaceShipTwo Pilot Named; Branson Vows To 'Move Forward Together'
astroengine writes Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson has arrived in the Mojave Desert, Calif., in the wake of the tragic explosion and crash of the company's SpaceShipTwo vehicle. The rocket-propelled space plane was completely destroyed Friday morning during a test flight. One of the two test pilots, employed by SpaceShipTwo development company Scaled Composites, was killed and the second pilot was rushed to a local hospital where he is described as having "major injuries." A spokeswoman for Kern's County Coroner's Office told the Los Angeles Times that project engineer and test pilot Michael Alsbury died in the accident. Alsbury was 39-years-old and had been working with Scaled for 14 years. The second pilot, who was able to parachute to safety, has not been named.
Ground photos
There was apparently a lot of concern behind the scenes with the new fuel, causing uncontrolled vibrations when used in the existing engine. For example follow @MarkZastrow, or see https://twitter.com/spacecom/status/528278550894227457 "I had deep concerns over both the new plastic/nitrous oxide engine and so did other sources familiar with the testing".