Weightlessness of space and fly back to earth. Today during this test flight were told, and youre looking at file video, this is not today video, file video. During this test flight as the rocket was firing or the engine was firing from spaceship two something, it appears, went terribly wrong. And the vehicle came apart. On board this spaceship two, two test pilots. I was there in january when we had a test flight and we should underscore that nbc news has been a partner with Virgin Galactic documenting some of this. Anyway, back in january i met the chief pilot and pilot on board at the time and talked about how this whole thing works. The bottom line, you fly up to an altitude of 45,000 feet or so in the mother ship you see there, the whiteknight. When they get to that altitude, spate ship two drops. When it drops away from whiteknight, it fires a rocket. The goal was to accepted it up into a very low earth orbit. At that point, were talking 70,000, 75,000 feet, at this point you would have that weightlessness before the vehicle then glides back to earth like the Space Shuttle. It does not have the capacity to do any sort of maneuvers other than, you know, just a normal glider would. It cant, in other words, have a powered maneuver. In any event, something went wrong today as they testfired this engine. Theyve been working on the engines trying to come up with a better design and something went terribly wrong. We dont know the names or identities of people on board. And we it is very early in that investigation. On the scene, they report they had two parachutes unknown whether anybody survived this, but two parachutes and significant debris. I think this really is going to call into question the viability, at least immediately, of putting paying passengers on a vehicle bound for low earth orbit. This is still very, very Risky Business. You mentioned the viability of people watching this, nbc reporting. You had over 700 people who paid or put down some kind of deposit to fly this kind of aircraft in the future. What is the impact there of that and this as a commercial option this is. When i was there, i was talking to Virgin Galactic and i have had conversations with Richard Branson about this, their goal was to have as many as four or five or six of these vehicles in circulation, cycling through, taking paying passengers up every single day or six days a week, out of their facility in new mexico. People are putting down somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000 for a ride. I think that at this point this is a very big setback, of course, for Virgin Galactic and for any attempt to put paying attentions on a vehicle into space. I dont know what its we have to see what the investigation reveals. You know, Virgin Galactic was hopeful that as early as late 2015 they might be able to put paying attentions on one of these vehicles headed for low earth orbit or low orbit, suborbit. I think at this point that is almost certainly not going to happen. And youve got to wonder whether this entire idea may be called into question. Heres why. It is not a reflection in in way on the individuals on the spaceship today. We dont want to say that. If you talk to anybody involved in this business, you know, we saw it two days ago with the commercial rocket headed for the space station. This is a very, very risky proposition. Any time you put people on any sort of a rocket, you fire that rocket, you put them at a very High Altitude and ultimately into any sort of an orbit or suborbit, it is very risky, very dangerous business. And i think that probably a lot of people will be asking themselves, is this something that we are ready for or that the technology is yet ready for . That is certainly an important question here. Tom, you mentioned that parachutes were seen. How well trained are pilots for Something Like this happening . Do they go through drills before in case this is the situation, they know exactly what to do . These i will tell you that the pilots who are flying for Virgin Galactic on spaceshiptwo are extraordinary in terms of their training. Theyre all veterans, many from the military, many have been former astronauts. David mckay, chief pilot of Virgin Galactic came from the british military, then chief pilot at Virgin Atlantic. Hes been around many, many, many years. So, they know how to jump out of a plane with a parachute on. But you cannot, you cannot plan for jumping out of a vehicle at that speed at an extreme altitude of, say we dont know what altitude they were at, but they generally would drop that spaceshiptwo from the mothership, at Something Like 40,000 feet. Assuming they gained any altitude beyond that thats a very High Altitude with very little oxygen. We dont know the speed they were traveling at. There are a lot of dynamics here that would make could make survival very questionable. Tom, i have two questions for you. One, how many other companies are working on this type of Space Tourism vehicle in the way Virgin Galactic is working on . The second question is, what kind of training are these more than 800 people or 70 0 people who have bought tickets on these spacecrafts, what kind of training are they undergoing to take this kind of trip . The individuals who are signing up to take this trip, the idea was, and i asked this question, when i was there with them, the idea is that they would come to the Virgin Galactic facility in new mexico. Keep in mind, today this accident was in the Mojave Desert in california. Ultimately they were going to lift off from new mexico. They were going to come in a couple days in advance, giving them training saying, you have to keep your seat belt on. You cant unbuckle your seat belt until given the sign by the crew. Then youre allowed to float around for a bit. Nothing in the way of, if this thing comes apart, heres how you survive, or putting on the proper, you know, suit, if you will, or even an being on again mask or anything of that nature. So, im not sure that anybody was really expecting thus far that paying passengers would be going through any kind of training that you would expect from a pilot or certainly an astronaut. I cannot give you, to answer your second question, i cant give you a specific number of other companies that are looking at this as a possible commercial venture. Tom, were reporting one pilot here dead. Thats per the california Highway Patrol and one injured. The original statement here from Virgin Galactic referring to this as a serious anomaly and saying the vehicle suffered that serious anomaly, which resulted in the loss of the vehicle. But the whiteknighttwo carrier aircraft landed safely. They say our first concern is the status of the pilots which were reporting one deceased, one injured, per Highway Patrol. What else can you tell us about this type of situation, you know, when you have this kind of injury and this kind of danger to the pilots . Well, listen, you know, they call these test vehicles for a reason. This is a this truly is a vehicle that they are pushing the envelope on in terms of technology and in terms of, you know, our own collective knowledge about how well you can put one of these vehicles into this type of an altitude and into a suborbit. I think its too early to draw any conclusions about where the investigation is going to go. Clearly, there will be a very detailed investigation that Virgin Galactic will launch. I assume you might get the help from, of course, virgins partners involved in this on the ground there in mojave. Up might, you might, iunder score, get help from the ntsb, but this is a test vehicle. So i would assume unless nasa reaches out and offers some assistance, probably nasa would not necessarily be involved in this. This is in no way a nasarelated vehicle. You know, there is a special zone in the Mojave Desert the faa cleared for test flights. Thats it, they are test flights. Trying to determine exactly what the limits are, this type of a vehicle is something theyve been very much engaged in for, you know, the better part of 18 months. They were going to have many more test flights before they actually put paying passengers on board. Tom costello, thank you so much. Please stay with us. Keep us updated with anything knew you learn. Lets bring in former corporate pilot, anthony roman. What more can you tell us about this spaceship, how its intended to work and operate. Well, this is a fantastic enterprise that began with a world renowned Innovative Aerospace engineer burt rotan. He and a quaul tied group of renegade engineers with Apple Computers rented some space in the Mojave Desert and they began designing the first civilian spacecraft. They won something called the x prize with spaceshipone to put civilian astronauts into suborbit. Its a very interesting aircraft in that the spaceship actually has its tail fold 90 degrees upwards. And then float like a falling leaf back down to earth. That eliminates the need for any heat shield whatsoever. Remarkable aircraft but highly dangerous. The company was acquired by Virgin Atlantic and then they morphed into Virgin Galactic. So this spaceshiptwo enterprise is a highly risky venture, as all space travel is. It is to go into orbit for the era of Space Tourism. Everybody knows the riveng and they go under the extensive astronaut training. Explain suborbit. 70 to 72 miles above the surface of the earth. That would be statute miles. The occupants will actually experience the feeling of being in space. They will see the curvature of the earth. They will experience weightlessness. And its actually supposed to be quite the experience. I think this is a significant business setback, not a technological setback since all spacecraft are experimental and come with expected high ricks. Anthony, you have one dead, one injured, according to the california Highway Patrol for this test run for the Space Tourism program. You have a number of people who signed up to do this, willing to pay as much as 250,000. Tom costello was saying at that speed, at that height, theres no real way to prepare for an incident like this. And it makes you really think, anthony, and question whether this program is actually worth it in the end. Well, all new technology is worth it. It comes risk with new experiment. If we were to make the world a completely safe place, there would be no progress in technology. So everyone who undergoes a flight in a spacecraft is made to understand the risk and accept those risks. Its part of the pioneer spirit. And, anthony, what are seen as the particular vulnerabilities. We know they recently switched to an alternative plastic type of fuel grain, a different type of fuel there. We know theyve been working on improving the engine of this spaceship. Talk to us about what it is specifically about space flight that makes it so risky and so experimental. Well, youre actually traveling through the outer layers of the earths atmosphere into an incredibly hostile environment. Its a full vacuum. You have space debris, microscopic in some instances space debris, that can hit the spacecraft. The rocket powered technology is highly volatile by its very nature. Youre traveling at incredible rates of speed. So, all of it combined make it a hostile environment and incredibly risky technology. But that goes with all space travel, all new technology and pushing the outer limits. Anthony, as we look at this breaking news of the spaceshiptwo crashing, one confirmed fatality. I want to read you something burt rutan said in 2008 and he designed spaceshipone. He said to the points youve been raising, the vehicle is designed to go into the atmosphere. Worst case, straight in or upside down it will be at least as safe as the early airliners of the 1920s. And then he says, dont believe anyone that tells you the safety will be the same as a modern airliner, which has been around for 70 years. Is that the right way to think about this early, Early Stage Technology inherently risky . I think its exactly the way to think about it. The early airliners of the 20s were a risky endeavor and went down with some regularity. So did the early singleengine, singlepilot aircraft. Its a series of technological steps and mishaps and learning from those mishaps and the successes that eventually build to modern and safe technology. Anthony, help us better understand the Space Tourism program for the people that have signed up to do this. Walk us through what sort of experience that would be, how high they would go, how scary this mission would be. Help us understand what this is all about. Well, its a very interesting experience. Virgin galactica has built a world class space port out in the Mojave Desert, both for the Technological Development of the spacecraft, the testing of the spacecraft and the training of the civilian astronauts who have forecasted over a considerable amount of money to undergo the experience. They have to go through extensive medical testing, extensive training as fledgling astronauts. And part of that adventurous spirit is the risk involved. There are many of us who just accept higher risks to the experiences we undergo and thats the preferred method of living for us. So its a group of people who have absolutely expected the risk, walk into it with eyes wide open and are informed of all of the possibilities that can occur. Anthony roman, stay with us as we are on this breaking news story. We want to go right now to bring in retired nasa astronaut mark kelly joining us on the phone. Good day to you. Good afternoon. What do you think as you see we are looking at file footage here of spaceshiptwo and were seeing, of course, these reports of at least one pilot dead. What are your thoughts right now on this tough story . Let me first clarify. The name of the company is Virgin Galactic, not Virgin Galactica, as your previously caller was saying. My thoughts are with, you know, the the family of the deceased pilot, if that actually turns out to be true. You know, this is a tough business. You know, Richard Branson has, you know, has taken, you know, a pretty big challenge. And the company has done, you know, an outstanding job to date, you know, being the First Company to launch the first private company to launch people into space and do it the same spacecraft, you know, two weeks larts for the xprize was a remarkable achievement. But this is a dangerous business. And, you know, there are going to be accidents. You know, you mentioned early aviation with early airliners. There was a high accident rate. Those early pilots, you know, suffered there were some high casualties at times. So, i mean, my thoughts and prayers are certainly with the company right now and all the people involved. Indeed. Mark kelly, krystal ball here. Talk to us about how as a pilot going into what you know is a risky and dangerous proposition, how you sort of process and dont think about that risk as youre there doing your job. You know, test pilots like they have working for them, you know, at virgin, you know, they love this stuff. You know, they love doing, you know, stuff thats challenging and test flight is incredibly, incredibly challenging thing to do, especially when your vehicle is going to go up into space. You know, the preparation for a flight like this is, you know, a lot of practice in a simulator, a lot of analysis ahead of time, understanding trying to understand, you know, where the vehicle can experience some problems. And there is a lot you can prepare for. And then at the end of the day, there are some things you cant prepare for like a catastrophic failure of the vehicle all at once. You know, its going to take some time to get the details of what happened here, but im confident Virgin Galactic is going to, you know, will recover from this. For our viewers trying to make sense of how special this kind of experimental flight is going up into the altitude of about 45,000 feet n plain english, how different is that from commercial flights that people are familiar with . A typical commercial flight, you know, you climb up slowly to altitude. If youre going on an overseas flight, maybe in the high 30s, you know, 39,000 feet, maybe up to 45,000 feet. You know, this crew today was lifted up to about that although tutd, probably up to around 45,000 feet. Underneath another airplane called the the bigger airplane is whitenooiknighttwo carries spaceshiptwo up to altitude. When theyre all ready, spaceshiptwo is released and they ignite the rocket motor. In this case, you know, theyve had some been experiencing some challenges with this new hybrid rocket motor theyve been testing. And from there you basically point the ship straight up, you get up to a speed of about mach five, five times the speed of sound, the engine eventually shuts down and you fly a parabolic up to about 60 miles. I doubt thats what they were planning on doing today but it sounds like they were testing the rocket motor. So, you know, the test would start out at a typical High Altitude of a commercial airliner. Mark, its Jonathan Capehart here. You said something at the beginning of your part of the interview here that struck me. You said, this is a dangerous business. Which made me wonder, is the idea of Space Tourism, the idea of Space Tourism, is it a ridiculous endeavor to pursue right now . Absolutely not. You know, flying airplanes was a dangerous business in the 1920s and