One confirmed dead as Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo destroyed in test flight [Updated]

Debris from SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave desert.

ABC News

At a press conference this evening, officials confirmed the destruction of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and the death of one of its two-person crew. The air-launched spaceplane, intended to one day carry passengers for suborbital "space tourism" flights, left the ground at 9:20am PDT. At approximately 10:10am, SpaceShipTwo separated from its "mothership," WhiteKnightTwo. Approximately two minutes later, controllers noticed an "anomaly," and the flight was terminated as SpaceShipTwo broke apart.

Both of the two crewmembers aboard ejected from the spacecraft; one survived with serious injuries and was transported to a hospital, but the other perished. Although the names of the two crewmembers were not released, the president of the company that built the craft, Scaled Composites' Kevin Mickey, confirmed that both were Scaled Composites employees.

Representatives on hand during the press conference included officials from the Mojave Air and Space Port, Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic, and local fire and police agencies. The officials delivered prepared statements and fielded a limited number of questions but deferred most substantial information until after the National Transportation Safety Bureau team could arrive. The NTSB is expected to begin its formal investigation at approximately 7:30am  PDT tomorrow morning, November 1.