Chief executive George Whitesides says new spacecraft is nearly ready . He said it could commence test flights by the end of this year . Its predecessor was destroyed in the Mojave Desert on 31 October 2017 . co - pilot mark Alsbury was killed and pilot mark Siebold was injured .
Chief executive George Whitesides says new spacecraft is nearly ready . He said it could begin test flights by the end of this year . Its predecessor was destroyed in the Mojave Desert on 31 October 2014 . Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed and pilot Peter Siebold was injured .