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