MOJAVE, Calif., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline, announced today that its vehicle developer, Scaled Composites (Scaled), has been granted

The company that flew the first privately funded manned rocket into space has been cited in connection with an explosion last summer that killed three workers, the state said Friday.

By Bob Keefe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sep. 23--LONG BEACH, Calif. -- After SpaceShipOne pierced the heavens high over California in the first private manned spaceflight, many expected the event would immediately ignite a new era of commercial space businesses.

MOJAVE -- Charles May was the consummate rocketeer. As a child, he built model rockets in his spare time. When he got older, he rigged them on bicycles and canoes to make them zip. "He was outgoing. I wouldn't call him a geek type of person," recalled older brother Gary May.

A deadly explosion at the test site of a pioneering company building commercial spaceships has cast light on inherent dangers in rocketry that have been overshadowed by public enthusiasm for the adventure of space tourism.