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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo crashes during space test flight after “in-flight anomaly” killing one and injuring a second person

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Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s commercial space flight company, has lost one of its spaceships during a test flight.

SpaceShipTwo experienced an “in-flight anomaly”, the company said, causing it to crash over the Mojave Desert, killing one and injuring a second according to Calfornia Highway Patrol.

It's understood there were two pilots aboard the spaceship but no passengers. 

A second test jet, known as WhiteKnightTwo and which helps launch the spaceship into high altitude, landed safely.

Virgin Galactic is working with US aerospace company Scaled Composites, part of Northrop Grumman, to develop passenger space flights and pioneer the space tourism industry.

SpaceShipTwo had its first test flight in January.

The company said it would work with the relevant authorities on determining the cause of the accident and that it would provide further updates on Twitter.