Branson: We go for space

Virgin Galactic Will Proceed with Second SpaceShipTwo Despite Crash

Rocket Is About 65% Complete, said Branson's Space-Tourism Company

By ROBERT WALL

Virgin Galactic LLC Tuesday reiterated it would proceed with the building of a second SpaceShipTwo after the first model crashed Friday, killing the co-pilot and setting back the company's space-tourism plans.

"While this has been a tragic setback, we are moving forward and will do so deliberately and with determination," Virgin Galactic said in a statement on Twitter . "We are continuing to build the second SpaceShipTwo," it said. The rocket is about 65% complete.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said late Monday it was close to wrapping up the on-scene portion of the investigation in Mojave, Calif. The investigation into what caused the crash could take a year.

Crash clouds future of space tourism

Federal accident investigators have an early sense of what went wrong before an experimental spaceship designed to ferry tourists beyond the Earth's atmosphere broke apart during a test flight. But they still don't know why the craft prematurely shifted its shape prior to the deadly crash.

And another question looms: How far will the accident push back the day when paying customers can routinely rocket dozens of miles into the sky for a fleeting feeling of weightlessness and a breathtaking view?

National Transportation Safety Board investigators worked Monday at the main wreckage area where Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo fell to the ground in the Mojave Desert, but also collected tiny debris 35 miles away. The accident killed the co-pilot and badly injured the pilot who parachuted out of the ship Friday.