Virgin Galactic Airlines, founded in 2004 by Sir Richard Branson, has been focused on launching the first commercial galactic flight in history. Hundreds of celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber, have signed up to be passengers on the second flight that the airline operates. Legendary scientist and renowned genius Stephen Hawking is also among those who will fly into space.

The first flight will be ceremonial and will be occupied by the founder and his family. Tickets begin at $250,000.

On Friday, October 31^st, 2014, Virgin Galactic’s first test flight, SpaceShipTwo, exploded in mid-flight over the Mojave Desert. The SpaceShip was attached to a jet-powered aircraft, and within two minutes, it was disintegrated.

Michael Tyner Alsbury, a test pilot who was married with two children, operated the doomed flight, along with co-pilot Peter Siebold. The failed flight became tragic when Alsbury was killed on impact. His co-pilot managed to parachute safely to the ground.

Investigation of the flight has been ongoing. SpaceShipTwo was the first to use plastic-based fuel. Miles O’Brien, CNN aviation analyst, stated that the new fuel could have had an effect on the ship’s steadiness. The fuel tanks, however, were found untouched.

Thirteen to fifteen investigators, employed by the National Transportation Board, will analyze the crash for about a week. Sources from the board say the investigation may take over a year.

Sir Richard Branson has released a statement following the tragic crash, saying “we owe it to our test pilots to find out what went wrong. If we find out what went wrong, we can overcome it, we will make absolutely certain that the dream lives on.” He is very upbeat, despite this unexpected accident, and has not lost hope that his dream of commercial galactic flight will come true.