The Space Studies Institute wishes to express our deepest sympathy to the family and colleagues of today’s lost SpaceShipTwo pilot, and extend our best wishes for a speedy and full recovery of the other pilot.
This is a sad and difficult moment in the human quest for the freedom to travel and live beyond the cradle of Earth.
Each test, each flight, whether perfectly completed or suffering any loss, is a required step in a very important journey. Every person who puts his or her life on the line for this goal is a hero and those who sacrifice the most will not be forgotten.
We hope that those who are struggling to come to terms with today’s loss will take time to appreciate and respect the courage and absolute dedication that these pilots put into making their worthy ambitions a reality for all of humanity. We owe them a great debt and, in their names, we must continue the work of making space accessible to everyone.

November 3rd update:   The names of the pilots have been officially released.  Peter Siebold remains hospitalized at this time.  Friends of Michael Alsbury have organized a funding page to assist his family ( http://www.gofundme.com/MikeAlsbury ).