Explosion at Mojave Airport Kills 2

Associated Press 07.26.07, 8:58 PM ET
MOJAVE, Calif. -







An explosion killed two people and critically injured four others at a Mojave Desert airport site used by the pioneering aerospace company that sent the first private manned rocket into space, authorities said.

The blast at a Mojave Air and Space Port facility belonging to Scaled Composites LLC also left some toxic material, said Kern County fire Capt. Doug Johnston.

Scaled is the Mojave-based builder of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocket to reach space, and is developing a successor for the new space tourism business Virgin Galactic.

Aerospace designer Burt Rutan, who heads Scaled, told The Associated Press he had no information and was heading to the scene.

Video news helicopters showed wrecked equipment and vehicles at the airport in the high desert north of Los Angeles near Edwards Air Force Base. The blast site was in a remote unpaved section of the airport.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, said Tony Diffenbaugh, an inspector with the fire department.

Kern County fire crews and bomb experts were headed to the scene, where there was concern that airport personnel could be exposed to hazardous materials, said sheriff's Deputy Vince Martinez.

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