SpaceShipTwo, the Virgin Galactic space plane, has crashed east of Mojave, according to the director of the Mojave Air and Space Port Stu Witt. The California Highway Patrol has confirmed the death of one test pilot.A medical helicopter carried one patient with major injuries to a Lancaster hospital for treatment. The names of the victims have not yet been released.Witt said a 2 p.m. news conference has been scheduled.Virgin Galactic previously announced that the rocket plane had "experienced an in-flight anomaly" on its Twitter page. The first reports of a downed aircraft came in at 10:51 a.m.Virgin Galactic has a released a statement to NBC News about the crash: 
 
 "Virgin Galactic's partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today. During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft landed safely. Our first concern is the status of the pilots, which is unknown at this time. We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident and provide updates as soon as we are able to do so." 
 
 This was the first powered flight of SpaceShipTwo since a May change in fuel was announced. Previously, the hybrid rocket, which combines both a solid and liquid ignition source, was powered by a rubber-based solid fuel. However in May, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whiteside announced that SS2's rocket, RM2, would now be powered by polyamide, a thermoplastic that was developed at Scaled Composites, the designer of SS2. ||||| MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — A witness says Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo exploded during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert. 
 
 Photographer Ken Brown says the space tourism craft was released from the plane that carries it to high altitude, ignited its rocket motor and then exploded. 
 
 Brown says there is wreckage in the desert north of Mojave Air and Space Port. 
 
 The California Highway Patrol says there is one fatality and one major injury. 
 
 SpaceShipTwo is typically flown by two pilots. 
 
 Virgin Galactic confirms the loss of the spaceship but has given no details.
– A spacecraft intended to carry tourists into space someday crashed this afternoon in California's Mojave desert, with one pilot dead and another injured, reports AP. "Our first concern is the status of the pilots," says a Virgin Galactic statement following the loss of its SpaceShipTwo craft. NBC News reports that at least one parachute was spotted after the mid-air explosion, and KGET reports that a medical helicopter brought one patient to the hospital. The SpaceShipTwo took off from Mojave Air and Space Port and soon suffered a "serious anomaly," says Virgin Galactic. "We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident." One witness says the craft exploded after it released from its carrier plane and ignited its rocket motor. The carrier plane landed safely. The crash follows the explosion of an unmanned supply rocket for the International Space Station earlier this week in Virginia.