Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites suffered an explosion during testing at Mojave Airport in New Mexico. The team from Scaled Composites was working with Nitrous Oxide as an oxidizer for the engines that power SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo when the explosion occurred. According to an interview with Burt Rutan, the Nitrous Oxide Oxidizer had been tested before and is known to be safe. The cause of the explosion is currently unknown.

Two people were immediately killed in the accident. One died later of injuries sustained. Three others were also injured during the blast.