Reportedly, three people were killed yesterday at 2.30pm at Scaled Composites‘ Mojave facility.
The explosion apparently occurred in a nitrous oxide system which was undergoing ground testing for flow-rates (essentially a non-ignition test). According to Scaled’s founder Burt Rutan, they had performed a lot of these tests with Spaceship One. Development was underway for Space Ship Two which is to be used by Virgin Galactic.
Another employee was said to have been badly hurt.
There is more info on this unfortunate event over at The Register.
It’s worth remembering that space flight is not the safest occupation and the high-energy systems involved have caught people out on many occasions in the past.
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