1 dead, 1 injured after Virgin Galactic spaceship crashes during test flight in California

VIRGIN Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, the Virgin Galactic space plane, has crashed near Califoia with one pilot believed killed and the other seriously injured.

The craft suffered a “serious anomaly” during a test flight, the commercial space flight operator announced on its Twitter feed.

Califoia Highway Patrol reported one fatality and one major injury.

The US National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) said it was aware of the incident but could provide no additional information.

During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo. WK2 landed safely. (2 of 4) — Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 31, 2014

Brave new world ... Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo on the tarmac at it's world debut unveiling at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave in 2009. Source: AFP

The craft, which is still in its test phase and which normally carries two pilots, had been carried aloft on Friday on a bigger aircraft known as WhiteKnightTwo and then released for a test of its rocket engine.

“During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo,” Virgin Galactic tweeted. Virgin Galactic said its top conce was the status of the pilots onboard.

WATCH LIVE: New pictures of Virgin Galactic space tourism rocket crash site in Calif. desert http://t.co/z5ZovbIT5T pic.twitter.com/L5gFxUXQij — CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 31, 2014

US media released images reportedly showing the crash site in the Califoia desert. In the images plane parts could clearly be seen littering the ground, one with a serial number along its side.

WhiteKnightTwo had taken off normally from Califoia’s Mojave desert, and been released normally, in what was the 35th such flight.

“SpaceShipTwo has been released by WhiteKnightTwo, and is now flying freely,” the firm wrote in a blow-by-blow account of the flight, adding: “Ignition! SpaceShipTwo is flying under rocket power again.”

The next tweet announced the “anomaly.”

#SpaceShipTwo has experienced an in-flight anomaly. Additional info and statement forthcoming. — Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 31, 2014

NBC says that only one chute was reportedly sighted over the Mojave Air and Space Port in Califoia, the base from which SpaceShipTwo and its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane took off.

Photographer Ken Brown, who was covering the test flight, told NBC News that he saw a midflight explosion and later came upon SpaceShipTwo debris scattered across a small area of the desert.

Billionaire backing ... Sir Richard Branson greets with SpaceShip2 test pilot Mark Stuckey following the first successful test flight. Picture: Mark Greenberg/AP Source: Supplied

Virgin Galactic is owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin group and Aabar Investments PJS, an investment company owned by the govement of Abu Dhabi.

Mr Branson has been closely involved with the development of the spacecraft and, in a case of unfortunate timing, even tweeted picture today of Halloween costume of a boy dressed up as a Virgin Galactic pilot.

What are you going to dress up as for Halloween this year? Here's some inspiration: http://t.co/sMQC1aJNQ2 pic.twitter.com/yzeuVNztGB — Richard Branson (@richardbranson) October 31, 2014

More than 500 people, including a number of celebrities, have already reserved seats -- and paid a deposit on the $US200,000 ($216,400) ticket price -- for the world’s first dedicated commercial space flights.

Suborbital flights on SS2 are planned to include five minutes of weightlessness and among those signed up are Angelina Jolie and Tom Hanks. SpaceShipTwo can carry six passengers.