Space tourism craft explodes on flight

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Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo blew apart after being released from a carrier aircraft at high altitude, according to Ken Brown, a photographer who witnessed the explosion.

One pilot was found dead inside the spacecraft and another parachuted out and was taken by helicopter to a hospital, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

The crash area was about 120 miles north of downtown Los Angeles and 20 miles from the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the flight originated.

"Space is hard, and today was a tough day," Virgin Galactic CEO and president George Whitesides said. "The future rests in many ways on hard, hard days like this."

The accident occurred just as it seemed commercial space flights were near, after a period of development that lasted far longer than hundreds of prospective passengers had expected.

When Virgin Group licensed the technology from Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, who put $26 million into SpaceShipOne, Branson envisioned operating flights by 2007. In interviews last month, he talked about the first flight being next spring with his son.

"It's a real setback to the idea that lots of people are going to be taking joyrides into the fringes of outer space any time soon," said John Logsdon, retired space policy director at George Washington University. "There were a lot of people who believed that the technology to carry people is safely at hand."

Friday's flight marked the 55th for SpaceShipTwo, which was intended to be the first of a fleet of craft. This was only the fourth flight to include a brief rocket firing. During other flights, the craft either was not released from its mothership or functioned as a glider after release.

At 60 feet long, SpaceShipTwo featured two large windows for each of up to six passengers, one on the side and one overhead.

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Space tourism craft explodes on flight

Virgins Branson vows to keep commercial space project alive

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)Virgin Groups founder Richard Branson vowed Saturday to keep Virgin Galactics commercial space project going, and said he was headed to the site where the companys spaceship crashed during a test flight Friday, killing one pilot and injuring the other.

Space is hardbut worth it. We will persevere and move forward together, Branson said in a statement on the companys website.

Branson also tweeted Saturday about the support the Virgin Galactic team has received:

In the statement, Branson said the company will cooperate fully with all the authorities involved in the investigation, and share more information when possible.

Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo exploded over the Mojave Desert in California on Friday. The spaceship suffered a serious anomaly after it separated from its launcher, which landed safely, the company has said.

While not a NASA mission, the pain of this tragedy will be felt by all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploration. Space flight is incredibly difficult, and we commend the passion of all in the space community who take on risk to push the boundaries of human achievement, NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement Friday.

The accident was the second in a week for the commercial space industry, which has been lauded as an alternative to pricey government programs. On Tuesday, a pilotless rocket by Orbital Sciences Corp. exploded after liftoff in Virginia, destroying cargo bound to the international space station.

Several celebrities and billionaires have signed up to fly on Virgin Galactics space tourism flights, the first of which had been scheduled to take off next year after several delays.

The booking page on Virgin Galactics site showed statements from the company and its CEO, George Whitesides, referring to the fatal accident.

The pages abstract was still available through web searches, however, and it advertised the booking as your first step to becoming an astronaut!. Flights cost $250,000 and deposits are refundable, it said.

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Virgins Branson vows to keep commercial space project alive

Branson: Dream of space tourism lives on

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"We are determined to know what went wrong and are working closely with authorities to get that information," Branson said Saturday at a press conference in the Mojave Desert, near the site of the accident.

From CNN: 1 dead, 1 injured in SpaceShipTwo test flight failure

Branson continued to express sorrow for the loss of life. But he also addressed a question on many people's mind: Will Virgin continue its space tourism business?

"We're going to learn what went wrong, discover how we can improve safety and performance and then move forward together," Branson said. "Four hundred engineers who work here and most people in the world would love to see the dream living on."

Commercial flights were set to start in 2015.

The Virgin Galactic spaceship that exploded Friday cost nearly $500 million to develop.

Virgin has sold more than 700 tickets to space already, each costing more than $250,000, for future flights. Several celebrities have already signed up, including Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Leonardo DiCaprio and Stephen Hawking.

Anyone who has bought a ticket and is now nervous about space flight will be able to get a full refund, Branson assured. The company has received more than $80 million from bookings.

The special plane is called SpaceShipTwo, and it was designed to carry six passengers.

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Branson: Dream of space tourism lives on

Branson: The dream of space tourism lives on

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"We are determined to know what went wrong and are working closely with authorities to get that information," Branson said Saturday at a press conference in the Mojave Desert, near the site of the accident.

From CNN: 1 dead, 1 injured in SpaceShipTwo test flight failure

Branson continued to express sorrow for the loss of life. But he also addressed a question on many people's mind: Will Virgin continue its space tourism business?

"We're going to learn what went wrong, discover how we can improve safety and performance and then move forward together," Branson said. "Four hundred engineers who work here and most people in the world would love to see the dream living on."

Commercial flights were set to start in 2015.

The Virgin Galactic spaceship that exploded Friday cost nearly $500 million to develop.

Virgin has sold more than 700 tickets to space already, each costing more than $250,000, for future flights. Several celebrities have already signed up, including Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Leonardo DiCaprio and Stephen Hawking.

Anyone who has bought a ticket and is now nervous about space flight will be able to get a full refund, Branson assured. The company has received more than $80 million from bookings.

The special plane is called SpaceShipTwo, and it was designed to carry six passengers.

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Branson: The dream of space tourism lives on

Space exploration furthers development in technology

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HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -

Another major blow to private space flight Friday after Virgin Galatic's SpaceShip Two Tourism Rocket exploded over a Southern California desert. One pilot died, the other sustained a major injury.

Friday's crash follows the one earlier this week where an Antares rocket exploded in Wallops, Virginia. That unmanned rocket blew up seconds after liftoff. It was headed to the international space station to deliver more than 5,000 pounds of cargo.

When it comes to traveling in and to space, we still haven't learned everything yet according to former NASA administrator, Mike Griffin.

"Space flight is in its infancy, were still learning how to do it. said Griffin.

He's saddened, but not surprised about the Antares Rocket and Virgin Galatic accidents.

These are the kinds of things that will occur as human beings seek to develop a capability to go where one has gone before. said Griffin.

Private companies are trying to retrace the government's steps for their commercial space ventures, according to Griffin.

We should not be surprised that it is a difficult and challenging problem. said Griffin.

Griffin reminds us that airplane travel is incredibly safe.

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Space exploration furthers development in technology

Underdog Fitchburg stuns St. John's

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SHREWSBURY -- What upset?

Despite Fitchburg High's sub-.500 record and low No. 7 seed, it never doubted it could eliminate talented St.

The headstrong and confident Red Raiders turned more heads Saturday afternoon at a wet, cold and muddy Pioneer Field.

Manny Payton hauled in a 21-yard TD pass from Darius Flowers in the fourth quarter and the defense stood strong late, as Fitchburg shocked Central Mass. football with a come-from-behind 22-15 quarterfinal triumph over the second-seeded Pioneers.

"Obviously we're playing with a lot of confidence," Fitchburg coach Dan Walker said. "We didn't think this was going to be an upset if we won. We know that we're playing great football. They're a good team, but we can play with anyone and beat anyone as long as we don't make mistakes."

The Red Raiders were covered in mud and soaked to the bone due to the constant rain throughout the game, but all were beaming with pride after advancing into the semifinal round.

"It wasn't an upset, but people forget about us," Payton said. "People forgot about us and people don't know what we're capable of. We knew it."

Said Flowers: "At the beginning of the week we knew we were going to come out and play physical football. Everyone can doubt us, but it didn't matter what everyone else thinks, it's all up to us and we make it happen."

Fitchburg -- a winner of four straight to improve to 4-4 overall after losing four straight to open the season -- travels to face No. 3 Wachusett next week in a semifinal. The Mountaineers overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the Red Raiders, 36-20, on Sept. 19.

"This group of kids on the field, we've all been together for three years and this is the biggest win we've had since we've been here," Walker said. "I'm proud of them and we're going to keep moving forward."

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Underdog Fitchburg stuns St. John's

‘Arun not associated with NASA’ says mother : FIR 29th Oct 2014 – Video

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#39;Arun not associated with NASA #39; says mother : FIR 29th Oct 2014
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Mars Anomalies Recent NASA Image Reveals A Valve Evidence Of Technology On Mars Celtic Cross – Video

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Mars Anomalies Recent NASA Image Reveals A Valve Evidence Of Technology On Mars Celtic Cross
A recent NASA image reveals evidence of technology on MARS. The object in the image taken by NASA #39;s Mars Curiosity rover shows a valve similar to high pressure valves on earth. The objects...

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Mars Anomalies Recent NASA Image Reveals A Valve Evidence Of Technology On Mars Celtic Cross - Video