UPDATE 5:33 p.m.: The surviving spaceship pilot is Peter Siebold, 43, the Associated Press reported, citing the Kern County sheriff. He's headed to surgery.

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Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — California authorities have identified the pilot killed during a test flight of Virgin Galactic's prototype space tourism rocket over the Mojave Desert.

The pilot was 39-year-old Michael Tyner Alsbury of Tehachapi, California, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

Alsbury worked for Scaled Composites, the company developing the spaceship for billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company.

The pilot who survived Friday's crash has not been identified.

This story has been updated.