updated 6:20 PM EDT, Sat November 1, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Authorities identify pilot who died as Michael Tyner Alsbury, 39
- Virgin Group founder Richard Branson vows to find out 'what went wrong'
- NASA's administrator says death of pilot felt by all who devoted lives to exploration
- Both pilots worked for Virgin Galactic's partner, Scaled Composites
(CNN) -- [Breaking news update, Saturday, 6:20 p.m.]
A SpaceShipTwo pilot who was injured in the failed flight in California has been identified as Peter Siebold, 43, according to a news release from the Kern County, California, Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office said he sustained moderate injuries and was treated at Antelope Valley Hospital.
[Original story, Saturday, 5:57 p.m.]
Branson: 'We are determined to find out what went wrong' in spaceplane incident
(CNN) -- Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said Saturday that investigators will find out what caused the Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo to break apart during a test flight over the Mojave Desert on Friday, killing one pilot and injuring another.
"We are determined to find out what went wrong," he said at a news conference.
Branson said everybody knows commercial space travel is "an incredibly hard project."
"This is the biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history to ensure that this never happens to the public," he said. "The bravery of test pilots cannot be overstated. Nobody underestimates the risks involved in space travel."
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