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Virgin Spaceflight crash kills 1, Branson vows to continue mission

| | Nov 02, 2014, at 12:59 am
California, Nov 1 (IBNS) A pilot was killed as Virgin's tourist-carrying Galactic rocket ship crashed on a test flight at California's Mojave Desert in the US on Friday.

Despite the mishap, Virgin chief Richard Branson has vowed to continue his space tourism venture.

"Thoughts with all @virgingalactic & Scaled, thanks for all your messages of support. I'm flying to Mojave immediately to be with the team," Branson earlier tweeted.

"All our thoughts are with the brave pilots & families affected by today's events in Mojave," he said.

"Space is hard - but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together," he said.

Reacting on the incident, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement: “On behalf of the entire NASA family, I offer our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the pilot lost in today’s accident involving Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, and we are praying for a speedy recovery of the other pilot."

“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," Bolden said.
 

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