Deadly Explosion Rocks Test Site

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Three people were killed and three others critically injured Thursday afternoon after an explosion at a Mojave-based rocket testing facility operated by Scaled Composites, the company started by famed private space flight engineer Burt Rutan.


The blast occurred at the Mojave Air and Space Port, where Scaled Composites was testing a rocket motor, authorities said.


Northrop Grumman announced earlier this month that it had acquired the Mojave-based aerospace company which gained global attention in 2004 for successfully putting the first privately funded, manned rocket into space. Before that, Rutan gained notoriety for his Voyager aircraft, an aircraft Rutan designed and piloted, which was the first aircraft to fly around the world without refueling.


Two people were killed instantly in the explosion, which happened at 2:34 p.m., while four others were rushed to a local hospital, where one later died in the hospital.


Not much is known about the blast but reports said that the explosion involved nitrous oxide, a highly flammable gas.


“We just don’t know” why the explosion occurred, Rutan said at a news conference. He noted that nitrous oxide usually is “not considered a hazardous material.”

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