The Scaled Composites test stand at Mojave where the explosion took place. This is an older Digital Globe image from the Google Earth database - that doesn't show all the structures that were damaged.
The Scaled Composites test stand at Mojave where the explosion took place. This is an older Digital Globe image from the Google Earth database - that doesn't show all the structures that were damaged. |
"What exploded was a rocket," he said.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.
The airport is located 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Los Angeles.
The Mojave desert is the site of the aerospace company Scaled Composites, run by US engineer Burt Rutan, who in 2004 won a 10-million-dollar prize by launching a rocket to space twice within a two-week period.
Scaled Composites, which is currently working with British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to send tourists to space by 2010, did not answer AFP telephone calls late Thursday.
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