Richard Branson promises to find answer for why Virgin spaceship crashed

MOJAVE, Calif., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Richard Branson promised Saturday to figure out why the Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashed in the Mojave Desert on Friday.

"Safety has always been our number one priority," Branson said to reporters. "We are determined to find out what went wrong ... We're not going to push on blindly," he said.

He called Virgin Galactic's efforts the "biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history" and expressed how difficult the project has been. He said he wants to make sure something like this never happens to the public, and they plan to continue the program as soon as they learn what went wrong.

The spacecraft that crashed was testing out a plastic-based fuel mix, as opposed to the normal rubber-based mix, which could have caused the engine to explode. Pilot Michael Tyner Alsbury, 39, has been identified as the only casualty. The other pilot, Peter Siebold, survived the crash with moderate injuries.