Virgin Galactic crash: Company defends safety record

Virgin Galactic insists safety has always been central to its operations, following the crash of its experimental spacecraft in the US on Friday, the BBC reported.

The company said that principle "has guided every decision we have made over the past decade, and any suggestion to the contrary is categorically untrue."

SpaceShipTwo broke up in mid-air during a test flight in California's Mojave Desert, killing one of the two pilots.

Virgin Galactic hopes to sends tourists on suborbital flights.

An investigation into the crash could take about a year, the head of America's National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said.

In a statement responding to criticism in the media about its approach to safety, Virgin Galactic said "everything we do is to pursue the vision of accessible and democratised space - and to do it safely."

It added: "Just like early air or sea travel, it is hard and complicated, but we believe that a thriving commercial space industry will have far reaching benefits for humanity, technology and research for generations to come.

"Now is not the time for speculation. Now is the time to focus on all those affected by this tragic accident and to work with the experts at the NTSB, to get to the bottom of what happened on that tragic day."