--- title: Virgin Galactic Richard Branson SpaceX: Craft Crashes in CA Desert description: A Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashed in the desert during a test flight Friday. One person was killed and another seriously injured. canonical: https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-31T19:13:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-14T00:59:54.000Z article:section: Science og:title: Virgin Galactic Richard Branson SpaceX: Craft Crashes in CA Desert og:description: A Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashed in the desert during a test flight Friday. One person was killed and another seriously injured. og:url: https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte313f0ee7120026a/698763c9a988ca1c966aa257/virgin-spaceshiptwo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: End of the line: Wreckage from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is shown in this still image captured from KNBC video footage from Mojave, California on Oct. 31, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Virgin Galactic Richard Branson SpaceX: Craft Crashes in CA Desert twitter:description: A Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashed in the desert during a test flight Friday. One person was killed and another seriously injured. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte313f0ee7120026a/698763c9a988ca1c966aa257/virgin-spaceshiptwo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Virgin Galactic Spaceship 'SpaceShipTwo' Crashes During Flight Test > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. 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Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=2b47d4aa-118d-411e-8719-052b1f22a5b4&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What The Virgin Galactic Crash Means For Space Tourism [Watch (HLS stream): What The Virgin Galactic Crash Means For Space Tourism](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5qpm1Vxp.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2014-11-01. The fatal crash of a Virgin Galactic spacecraft has some industry watchers predicting a major setback for the space tourism industry._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 14, 2023 12:59 AM UTCPublished: Oct 31, 2014 7:13 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 14, 2023 12:59 AM UTCPublished: Oct 31, 2014 7:13 PM UTC A Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashed in the California desert during a test flight Friday, the company said. The crash killed one test pilot and left another seriously injured. Visibly shaken officials at a Friday press conference said that the surviving pilot is being treated at Antelope Valley Hospital and that little is known at this time about what caused the crash. A witness told the Associated Press that SpaceShipTwo, which is carried aloft by a separate aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo, exploded shortly after detaching from its carrier craft and igniting its rockets. Virgin Galactic has been testing the aircraft, known as SpaceShipTwo, in the Southern California desert in hopes that it could one day be used to shuttle tourists to space. Virgin Galactic recently changed SpaceShipTwo’s fuel mixture from a rubber-based solution to a plastic mix, but it’s unclear if that switch had anything to do with Friday’s explosion. “We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident and provide updates ASAP,” the company said in a tweet. > [](https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/528254733963001857) > [](https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/528254804888682498) > [](https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/528254862166081536) > [](https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/528254925470711808) Officials from the Kern County Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol both responded to the incident, while local news helicopter footage of the scene showed debris clearly from SpaceShipTwo littering the test area. The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday it’s sending a “go-team” to investigate the incident. > [](https://twitter.com/NTSB/status/528271496926740480) Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson tweeted Friday afternoon that he’s flying to the scene of the crash immediately: > [](https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/528276299371249664) The SpaceShipTwo incident follows [Tuesday’s loss](time.com/3544723/antares-explosion-nasa-elon-musk/) of an unmanned Orbital Sciences Antares rocket shortly after liftoff from Virginia’s Wallops Flight Facility. “It hasn’t been an easy week,” said Stuart Witt, CEO of the Mojave Air & Space Port, at a press conference Friday. **“**It’s certainly been a challenge, but, where I’m from, this is where you find out your true character.” ## Transcript Two spaceship accidents in one week, one resulting in the death of a pilot and seriously injuring another, has prompted the question, what does this mean for space tourism? Virgin Galactic had hoped to give anyone willing to shell out a quarter of a million dollars the ability to travel to space by next October. The waiting list of space tourists included names such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Bieber, and Ashton Kutcher. An aerospace and defense industry senior analyst. Tells the New York Times that while Virgin Galactic was one of the leading companies in commercial space flight, Friday's accident has pushed its lead back considerably. A science editor at BBC had a similar view, calling Friday's accident a massive setback for Virgin Galactic partly due to its impact on how people perceive the safety of space tourism. But some, including folks who purchased tickets to fly in a Virgin Galactic flight say this is far from the end of space tourism. I really think that anybody who says, oh, we should stop and think about this is naive in saying that, you know, if that'd happened with the first. You know automotive airplane accident. We'd be still on horses. A former astronaut told USA Today that while he thinks the crash will certainly effect people's impressions of commercial space flight in the short run, the long term impact will be minimal. This is the second accident involving Virgin Galactic spaceship too. But the first two occur mid. Flight. While there's no word on whether anyone with a $ 250, 000 ticket has asked for a refund yet, the company does offer them. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/"},"headline":"Virgin Galactic Spaceship 'SpaceShipTwo' Crashes During Flight Test","datePublished":"2014-10-31T19:13:18.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T00:59:54.000Z","description":"One pilot was killed and another seriously injured","url":"https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/","keywords":["space travel","Transportation","Space","Virgin Galactic","Richard Branson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte313f0ee7120026a/698763c9a988ca1c966aa257/virgin-spaceshiptwo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte313f0ee7120026a/698763c9a988ca1c966aa257/virgin-spaceshiptwo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"End of the line: Wreckage from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is shown in this still image captured from KNBC video footage from Mojave, California on Oct. 31, 2014.","caption":"End of the line: Wreckage from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is shown in this still image captured from KNBC video footage from Mojave, California on Oct. 31, 2014.","creditText":"KNBC-TV/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space-travel/","name":"space travel"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/","name":"Virgin Galactic Spaceship 'SpaceShipTwo' Crashes During Flight Test"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What The Virgin Galactic Crash Means For Space Tourism","description":"The fatal crash of a Virgin Galactic spacecraft has some industry watchers predicting a major setback for the space tourism industry.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5qpm1Vxp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-01T14:37:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5qpm1Vxp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3551651/virgin-galactic-crash/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```