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Submission + - SpaceShip 2 Test Explosion Kills 2, Injuries 4

Submitted by quizdog on Thursday July 26, 2007 @11:19PM

quizdog writes: CNN reports that an explosion during the testing of the hybrid rocket engine destined for SpaceShipTwo has killed two people and seriously injured four others. Names of the victims are not given but Burt Rutan, president of Scaled Composites and designer of SpaceShipTwo is reported not present at the test.

Submission + - SpaceShipTwo teststand explosion: 2 Dead (space.com)

Submitted by

J05H

on Thursday July 26, 2007 @11:14PM

J05H writes: "Scaled Composites team hurt in teststand explosion this afternoon. There are threads on Uplink and NSF. Drudge and various news agencies are carrying the news. Two dead, four injured critcally at Mojave Airport, one minor injury. Suspected explosion of Nitrous Oxide (NOX)tank, which serves as oxidizer in the SS2 hybrid engine. While safer to handle than liquid hydrogen, NOX can decompose violently when contminated or disturbed. Images from local newscopters looks like the MONODS test trailer was involved. A sad day for the families, everyone at Scaled, Mojave and the space community."

Submission + - Scaled Composites test site explosion

Submitted by Alizarin Erythrosin on Thursday July 26, 2007 @11:06PM

Alizarin Erythrosin writes: An explosion at a Mojave desert test site during a "cold fire" test for SpaceShipTwo's rocket engine went disastrously wrong. Reports are that 2 personnel were killed and 4 serious injured. Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan was not at the site at the time of the explosion. The CNN story has an included aerial picture of the site. It is still unclear whether the actual test caused the explosion or if it was preparation for the test, as the nitrous oxide used in the rocket motor is the suspected cause.

Submission + - Blast at Mojave Air & Space port kills 2

Submitted by

gambit3

on Thursday July 26, 2007 @11:05PM

gambit3 writes: "An explosion at an airport home to Scaled Composites — the builder of the first private manned rocket to reach space — killed two people and left four seriously hurt Thursday. It happened at the Mojave Air and Space Port during a test of a new rocket motor for SpaceShipTwo. Aerial video of the blast aftermath showed a charred and twisted flatbed trailer attached to a truck cab with a large silver tank next to it. Large pieces of debris appeared to be strewn for hundreds of yards from the center."

Submission + - Blast at SpaceShipOne Facility Kills Two

Submitted by

ewhac

on Thursday July 26, 2007 @11:04PM

ewhac writes: "An explosion at the Mojave Air and Space Port has killed two people and critically injured four others, according to the Associated Press. Details are sketchy at the moment. Nitrous oxide is reported to be involved, but it is not yet known if a motor test was involved. The Mojave Air and Space Port, located in the high desert near Edwards Air Force Base, is owned by Scaled Composites LLC, the builders of SpaceShipOne."

Submission + - 2 SpaceShipOne builder employees dead in explosion

Submitted by davidwr on Thursday July 26, 2007 @11:04PM

davidwr writes: Wire services report the deaths of two employees of Burt Rutan's company Scaled Composites LLC. Scaled Composites is the company behind SpaceShipOne, the first private company to send a man into space.

"We've lost a couple of our employees. It's a very big deal," Rutan said.
.

Submission + - 2 killed in SpaceShipTwo motor test explosion (cnn.com)

Submitted by RZG on Thursday July 26, 2007 @09:31PM

RZG writes: Two people were killed and 4 were injured during a "cold fire test" of the motor for SpaceShipTwo. This obviously is a setback for Virgin Galactic and the non-government space community in general. "Aerial video of the blast aftermath showed a charred and twisted flatbed trailer attached to a truck cab with a large silver tank next to it. Large pieces of debris appeared to be strewn for hundreds of yards from the center."

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